The Red Dawn Addiction
by Caelice
Summary: Highschool AU. Deidara just wants to win the affections of Sasori, Kakuzu and Hidan are more interested in killing each other than anything, and the rest of the Akatsuki think life would be much easier without the constant kidnappings and hospital visits.
1. Sole Objective

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any _Naruto _characters. I do own the Chikara and its members.

**Rating: **T for violence, swearing, light slash, possible character death

**Pairings: **Mentions of romance, but it's not the central theme. Kakuhida, Sasodei, PeinKonan. As for KisaIta and ZetsuTobi – that's more up to the readers' interpretations.

**Notes: **Now there's some changes in this story that aren't part of the original series, considering this is an AU fic. All these changes are important to the story and they are mentioned inside the story themselves. But just to be clear, in this fic Deidara and Ino are brother and sister. Deidara is three years older than Ino, which is the same age-gap for Itachi and Sasuke. Also, Tobi and Itachi are cousins of the same age, and Tobi lives with his cousins and not with his own parents. Lastly, Sakura has a cousin named Katsuki, who is an OC.

There are several OC characters, but they play antagonist roles and the main focus is on the Akatsuki. There is no specific focus on any of the individual Akatsuki members as they all play a big part in this story. So if you have any favorites, they will definitely have a large role to play.

It needs to be known that Kakuzu currently does not wear his mask and does not have his stitches. Also, Deidara does not wear a scope over his eye. The reasons for this will be clear in later chapters.

If there's anything I've missed, I'll be sure to include it in the next chapters. Please review – it's nice to hear feedback.

**The Red Dawn Addiction**

Chapter One

Sole Objective

"My sole objective in life is to ruin and destroy Pein. I want to rip him down from that little throne he's placed himself on. I want to see him fall from that pedestal that his little minions have placed him on. I've been thinking for many weeks how to do this and then yesterday, it came to me! It's so simple, so…devious," he said, waving his cigarette around and looking smugly at the ceiling. "All I need to do is create my own gang to rival his and destroy his little group of dogs. But first we'll play it nice, confuse them a little bit. Make them think that we're not that big a threat – like every other silly gang that has tried to oppose him."

He paused, looking thoughtfully at his desk. It was covered in dozens of cigarette burns and, strangely enough, the ash tray in the middle was completely empty.

"This won't be an easy task, considering the amount of power they hold over…well everybody. People choose to avoid them out of either fear or respect, and nobody messes with the Akatsuki. At least, not since they gained power over this miserable shithole of a town. Which is why we'll have to be subtle. We have to grow without them knowing about it. A silent rebellion against this group of oppressors. I think if we used the word 'rebellion' we could convince people to join us. People like feeling rebellious. Makes 'em think they're special."

Riku gestured welcomingly at his two guests, both of whom were sitting comfortably in chairs opposite of him. The two of them remained silent, although the girl quirked an eyebrow at him. She looked bored, but he could tell that she was interested.

"Mei," he said, pointing to her with his hand curled like a gun. "What do you think? Are you willing to help me create our own band of miscreants? As my cousin I demand that you join. You know I couldn't do this without you. The same goes for you Jacob. You two will be the brains and the brawn of my group. I_ need _you if I ever want a chance of destroying the Akatsuki." He made a pleading face, almost looking child-like. It would have worked had they both not known how cruel he could truly be.

There was a thoughtful silence before Mei finally spoke.

"Pein will not simply stand by and allow his friends to be terrorized," she said sternly. She had listened to him without making a sound, but when she finally spoke her voice was strong and flat, as if nothing he had said had affected her. "Do you really think you can do this without him noticing? He will suspect that you are behind all of this."

"Let him! What could he do to me? By the time he realizes it's me, I will have the support of all the members of my new group," he announced, grinning at her. She sat back, finished with what she had to say. "How delicious do you think it will feel when I watch him crumble?"

"Is that the sole purpose that drives you lately? Have you not considered that people might get hurt? Possibly die?"

This question was posed by the boy sitting next to Mei. His name was Jacob, and he was just as emotionless, if not more so, than Mei. He did not sound disturbed by the prospect, merely interested in his friend's perspective. His expression didn't change as he spoke.

"Then they would die for a worthy cause. Their deaths would not be meaningless – after all, they would be sacrificing themselves for the greater good. Of course, we won't mention that to them in the initiation meetings, yeah?" Riku chuckled, amused by his own joke.

He looked at them expectantly, waiting for them to speak. They glanced at each other, seemingly reluctant, before nodding and turning to him with that same blank look on their faces. He could see that they were intrigued – their eyes betrayed their true feelings.

"If you choose to go through with this plan, you already know that we will be your loyal supporters. We will follow without question, no matter what orders you gives us," Jacob said. Riku clapped his hands together, beaming fondly at them.

"Excellent! Now, to begin with, we'll need to think of a name," he crooned, tapping his cigarette and watching the ash fall onto the desk. "I think I will name my group…_Chikara_. Sounds cool – _much _better than Akatsuki. It means power, I believe. And that's all I want, isn't it? Power!"

He tilted back on his chair, suddenly looking serious. His face was thoughtful, and his mind was whirling with different ideas and different plans. He pressed the remains of his cigarette onto his desk, creating another circular burn in the wood. The smoke drifted upwards and he delicately ran his hands across it to dissipate it.

"We'll start slow. First we'll leave them alone, save for some petty annoyances. We'll make our presence known of course, and make sure that they think of us as a mild threat. But we won't alert them to the fact that they are our primary target. Then…once an opportunity arises…we'll strike. One by one, we'll bring them down."

Mei pulled the cap off a pen that she had produced seemingly out of nowhere. She began writing on the piece of paper in front of her, listing the members of the Akatsuki.

"Aside from Pein and Konan, none of them have an official ranking." She ignored his wince. She knew what had triggered it, and knew that it would be wise to move on. "Pein is their official leader and he founded the group approximately two years ago along with Konan, who is his…second-in-command, I guess you could call it. His oldest and most loyal members would be Zetsu, Sasori, Kakuzu and Kisame who joined very shortly after the group was created. Itachi joined a few months ago for personal reasons that I'm sure you're aware of and two new members have since joined during this year – Hidan and Deidara. I'm sure that I don't need to remind you how powerful each of them are – physically and mentally."

Riku listened avidly, knowing that it would be stupid to interrupt her when she was talking like this. Mei was now completed engrossed in the information she had gathered and was jotting down all of their names.

"If you wish to listen to my advice, I would tell you to target the newer members. Not only are they new to the group, but I've heard that they are reckless and short-tempered as well. There is also another boy, Tobi, who seems to associate with Zetsu and Deidara. He is the Uchiha's cousin, though not as brilliant as Itachi and Sasuke. In fact, I've heard he might be mentally challenged and he was held back a few grades due to his stupidity."

Riku snickered as he refreshed his memory of the idiotic Uchiha. He was an easy target – a victim even without Riku demanding the others to intentionally terrorize him. He had no doubt that the boy was a social outcast, with the exception of perhaps his cousin and those other two Akatsuki who probably spoke to him out of pity.

"I would suggest you leave the older members alone in the beginning. I feel I am correct in thinking that their loyalty towards Pein would never sway even in the harshest of circumstances. However, Deidara and Hidan would prove to be…careless and perhaps easier to manipulate. Also, Tobi is a perfect victim and harsh treatment of him would surely cause some problems, despite the fact that he is not part of the group. Itachi could also be manipulated if we target his younger brother, Sasuke, who is the reason he even became a part of the Akatsuki. Kisame is fond of Itachi, so that could be his weak spot."

She paused, frowning at the paper which was now covered in several small notes. "However, as for Konan, Kakuzu, Sasori and Zetsu, they are perhaps the most difficult ones to target. None of them seem to show outwardly affection or even much emotion except for volatile anger in the case of Kakuzu. He is their treasurer and is involved with the gang's finances. Zetsu is their spy and Sasori develops various poisons and drugs which they sell to willing clients in order to gain considerable profit."

"In other words, the Akatsuki is a powerful, financially sound group of loyal members," Jacob said. He had taken out his knife and was examining it for scratches. He had not even looked up when he spoke and Mei responded with a quick nod, despite the fact that he couldn't see her.

"This will be a difficult task, but if you are willing to continue with this, we will help you, Riku," she said, turning the paper until Riku was able to read it. Unperturbed, he scanned the paper, his eyes focusing on the top two names. Pein and Konan.

He began to hum to himself, trailing his nails across the wood of the table until it reached a small line of ants marching from the desk onto the wall. With each word he squished an ant beneath his merciless fingers:

"One…by…one…"

- 0 -

- 0 -

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"What the fuck is this? Is it meat?" The strange substance fell back onto the tray with a soft _'splat'_ as the teen stared at it in utter disgust. He grimaced and pushed the tray away from himself and crossed his arms. "I'm not eating this shit. I don't want to be fucking poisoned."

The person opposite him grunted, narrowing his red-green eyes. "Figures. You always find something to complain about, no matter the situation." He glared at him from under his fringe of long, black hair. Although it was long, he had somehow managed to keep it neat and out of his eyes. "And it's beans, you empty-headed idiot."

"Screw you, Kakuzu! I won't be insulted by a heathen! And I knew it was beans!"

"You swear too much, Hidan. It's unseemly," Sasori interjected quietly. He was sitting next to Deidara, who was fiddling with the tiny bomb he had been making during art class out of clay and god-knows-what. The blond had a look of intense concentration as he worked and was ignoring the conversation around him. "Take that thing off the table, brat. I don't want my food exploding, and I don't trust you not to make a stupid mistake while you're making those things."

"Don't be so uptight, Danna. I won't make a mistake," he mumbled, too focused to be annoyed by the insult. Irritably he flipped his fringe out of the way to reveal both of his brilliant blue eyes. Sasori stared at him for a second, looking as if he was ready to counter that statement. Then he hesitated and turned away, sipping his water.

Pein was silent throughout this exchange, with his eyes on the table that was the farthest away from them. That table held six members of the recently formed gang – _Chikara_. They were huddled together, laughing and bickering loudly even to gather the attention of some of the people around them.

They had formed approximately five months ago and since then, had made sure that their reputation spread like wildfire throughout not only the school, but the entire town as well. Pein wasn't sure how it had happened, but without him realizing it their members seemed to have increased and he now spotted more and more people wearing the signature blue band of the Chikara. In the beginning, he had not seen them as a threat, merely an annoyance. But as time passed on, he began to sense that there was an undercurrent of animosity directed towards their group. And it worried him.

He glanced at Konan, who was eating silently as she usually did. She wasn't one for talking unless it was absolutely necessary and when she did it was always direct. That was what he liked about her. She wasn't like other women, she was different and he enjoyed that. She was his most loyal friend and he never kept secrets from her. He had to confide in her his recent fears about the Chikara. She would know what to do about it.

She stopped, pushing her silky blue hair behind her ear and glancing up until their eyes met. She smiled at him slightly and he felt his fears melt away, although he made sure to keep his expression the same. It would not do to show his little weakness for her in public.

A large shadow was momentarily cast over Deidara and the last of their members approached, looking moody and thunderous. His left hand was freshly bandaged but already small droplets of blood had seeped through the white material.

"I hate Mondays," Kisame grumbled, sliding into the seat next to Itachi. His skin, usually tinted blue from a birth defect, was flushed from anger and he slammed his tray down onto the table. Deidara winced at the sudden movement, whereas Itachi didn't seem to be fazed at all. He simply looked at the teen's bandaged hand:

"How is your hand, Kisame? Are any of your fingers broken or is it simply bruising?"

"What the hell happened to your hand?" Hidan asked, staring at the injury suspiciously.

"I bet he got it from too much jacking off. **It's not like you to be clumsy**." This came from Zetsu, who had been conversing softly with himself until now. Unlike Kisame, his unusual skin was not due to his mental condition and a product of his own free will. He suffered from Dissociative Identity Disorder and although his medication managed to keep down the worst of the symptoms, he still shared his body with his other personality and they often conflicted.

The black half of his skin had been during a particularly dramatic point of his disorder when he had developed a fear that he would lose one of his personalities and had gotten the right side of his body tattooed completely black. Despite the initial shock, his friends had grown accustomed to the strange surface and now it was difficult to imagine him without his 'dark' personality.

"I wasn't clumsy. Someone slammed a door on my hand while I was walking into Physics," Kisame snarled, revealing a mouthful of jaggedly sharp teeth. "Three guesses as to who."

"_Them_." Pein's deep voice caused an immediate silence to fall upon them. It was the natural effect of his voice and out of respect they turned to him, immediately alert to his actions. He was scowling at the table, his fists clenched with anger. Slowly, thoughtfully, he relaxed his hands and reached up to stroke the piercings on his bottom lip. It was what he would do whenever he was thinking deeply. "They've begun to target us more than usual…I'm beginning to wonder if that was their objective in the first place."

"They do seem to antagonize us a lot more than other people. Although they are little annoyances, unlike some of their attacks on the other students," Konan said softly. "I have a feeling that we are their primary target though, and we should keep an eye on them in the future." The others nodded in agreement, Kisame glaring at his hand.

"Who was it, Kisame? If I ventured a guess I would say it was Alec. He seems a bit more violent than his companions," Kakuzu said. There was nothing but truth in his statement. Alec had proved himself to be a twisted member of Chikara and more eager to partake in violent activities than some of his friends. He had a scar on his face that was not clearly visible due to the fringe that covered half of it and his expression was often one of malice and cruelty. Pein suspected that he wasn't completely right in the head. The boy seemed especially hateful towards Hidan, despite the Jashinist's complete inability to even recognize this hostility.

"You've got that right. That little bastard is going to get his ass kicked once school's over," Kisame threatened. "Even if his friends are with him, I can take them no problem." He cracked the knuckles of his uninjured hand and shot a furious glower towards the sandy-haired youth on the other table. Alec glanced up at that moment and when he noticed, his face was almost split in half from the malicious grin.

"You won't be alone," Itachi said, his voice no higher than its usual volume. The two of them always walked back home together since their houses were practically next to each other, which had resulted in them growing close. "If you plan to confront them, I'll help you. It would be best if you had someone to watch your back."

"Like he'd need the help, un. Kisame could probably take all six of them using pure willpower," Deidara joked, looking up from his creation. He offered the tall boy a toothy smile, which was returned.

As they spoke, Pein began to think about what Itachi had said. It _was _a good idea for each of them to have back up in case anything ever happened, to prevent them from coming to harm. If he was correct in assuming that Chikara was targeting the Akatsuki, then when the members were alone they were vulnerable to attack if the gang ever chose to take more violent action. He came to the conclusion that he was going to keep his friends safe. He filtered through his memory before glancing at Kakuzu and Hidan with slight doubt. He knew that they wouldn't be happy about this arrangement at all, but it was necessary.

He waited for his friends to calm down and stop speaking before placing his fork onto his tray and clearing his throat. The others looked at him questioningly, waiting for him to speak:

"Aside from Itachi and Kisame, the rest of you make your way home alone afterschool, am I correct?"

The others nodded in agreement, mumbling and glancing at each other, wondering where this was going.

"I walk home with Tobi sometimes. **Unless he's being an idiot, then I make him walk back by himself**."

Ah, yes, Tobi. He had forgotten about that boy.

"It seems to me that Chikara might possibly be another gang on the rise whose objective is to challenge our status. Unlike the others, though, they seem to be a lot subtler about it and due to that I've overlooked them until now. But there seems to be more and more people wearing the blue Chikara bands and I would rather we protect ourselves now before it's too late. Therefore I'm assigning you all partners. You will walk home together afterschool and attempt to remain together during break times and lunch as well. If one of you is forced to stay back afterschool, the other will remain behind as well until the two of you are free to go home," he said, watching the different reactions on their faces. He continued without letting them speak.

"I've assigned the pairs based on how close you live together, naturally. Which means that Konan and I will be partners. Kisame and Itachi, you two already walk home together most days so this is no big change for you. Sasori and Deidara, you two live relatively close so you will walk back together. Zetsu, I will explain your situation in a second." Bracing himself, he turned to Kakuzu and Hidan, both of whom had paled while he was talking. They lived on the same side of town, a bit farther than the others and already they deduced that Pein was going to be partnering them together.

"No…no fucking way. Jashin damn it, you are _not_ doing this!" Hidan said, his face transforming into one of denial and anger.

"Pein, please reconsider this," Kakuzu growled, glaring at the Jashinist who looked like he was ready to rise out of his chair. It was no secret that the two of them had disliked each other from the moment they had met. Their personalities were as alike as day and night with one exception – they were violently short-tempered. Unfortunately this caused them to clash almost daily and Pein guessed that they were more dangerous to each other than the Chikara. But hopefully under orders from their leader, they would force themselves to tolerate each other.

"I don't want to be stuck with this fucking _heathen_-"

"Like I'd want to hang around you and your irritating preaching all day."

"Yeah? Well-"

"_Enough!_" Pein snapped, rubbing his temples. "There is no other option. You both live farther away than anybody else and that means that you will be partners."

He turned to Zetsu, who was a special case. Although he had double the personality, he didn't have double the strength. It wouldn't do for him to walk back by himself. And although Pein didn't want to admit it, he had another responsibility as well. Slowly, his eyes traveled to a lone figure that was sitting in the corner, most likely humming happily to himself.

"Zetsu, I'm assigning you to Tobi as you are aware that he is also targeted by a few of the members – mainly Connor, Teru and Takashi, I believe. Although he is not a part of our group I would prefer we not leave him vulnerable to attack," Pein said, nodding to the teen. He noticed Itachi shift in his seat at these words.

Zetsu nodded, content with Pein's choice. Although Tobi had not been allowed into the Akatsuki fold – he was in no way powerful like the other members and his blatant stupidity would bring their reputation crashing to the ground – they all accepted him as a friend, or at least someone they would protect from harm. The closest ones to him were Zetsu, Itachi and, on some level, Deidara. The others found him annoying to be around, but it was out of respect for those three that they prevented any bullying of Tobi.

"That is not a problem. **As long as that annoying brat keeps his mouth shut**."

Once the group had finished lunch, they began to leave. Pein had to remind them sharply to remain in pairs, which caused a bit of grumbling and choice swear words. Deidara and Sasori were also mildly unhappy about the arrangement. Although they got along relatively well, their discussions about 'art' often escalated in exasperating fights that ruined any possibility of a close friendship for them.

He was amazed that Kakuzu even made it out of the cafeteria without attempting to behead Hidan, who was ranting about how cheap Kakuzu was and how bad of a partner he would be.

Zetsu had known Pein long enough to sense that he was meant to stay back and speak to their leader privately. Konan moved a respectful distance away so that she wouldn't be able to hear their conversation. If Pein wanted her to know what was being said, he would tell her when he was ready.

Once they were all gone, Pein leaned over to Zetsu, casting his eyes in the direction of the Chikara. His eyes remained on Alec for a few seconds before moving to the rest of them. They seemed like normal school kids, easily influenced and dangerous if given too much power.

"I have a favor to ask you, which I hope will not be too much trouble," he murmured, keeping his voice low. "I need someone to keep an eye on the gang and to figure out who their leader is and gather some basic information about them without being seen. I haven't told the others but I have this feeling that these people might be more than the pathetic gangs who used to rise against us. The fact that they have kept themselves at a relatively low profile is worrying."

"You want me to spy on them?"

"You've always been good at that, and I need you for this."

Zetsu was silent, before nodding. Of course he would comply. There was no doubt in either of their minds that he would deny a request from his beloved leader. He had been the third to join the Akatsuki and had been close to Pein since they were children. He would have done anything to please his friend.

"Of course I will. **Anything you want, Pein**."

"You will have to inform Tobi of the change in plans and tell him to walk back with Sasori and Deidara for the next few days. It seems that Teru and Takashi have been taking a keen interest in him and I'd rather keep him from harm - for Itachi's sake. He would not be happy if anything were to happen to his cousin."

The conversation was over. He just up, giving Zetsu one more nod before moving away with Konan, who had waited patiently for him. She followed him without question or word and they disappeared at outside the cafeteria doors. A few people glanced at them as they left – Pein had a sort of presence that could not be ignored – then continued with their daily lives. People knew not to cross the Akatsuki. No matter who you were, you did not go against the Akatsuki if you wanted an easy life. It was a well-known fact and over the years people had either learned from stories or experience that all of the Akatsuki members were off-limits.

Zetsu moved towards the table in the corner of the cafeteria, where a single person was sitting and looking outside the window. Or at least, his mask was tilted towards the outside but it was hard to tell where he was looking considering his entire face was covered by a bright orange swirly mask. The boy turned slightly and when he caught sight of Zetsu, straightened in his chair and began waving frantically.

"Zetsu-san! Over here! Over here!" he cried, despite the fact that Zetsu was already heading towards his table.

"Hello, Tobi. How are you? **Stop waving, you fool, you're embarrassing yourself**," he said, sitting onto the chair next to the child-like boy.

Tobi was Itachi's cousin and at a young age, after his parents were deemed unfit to raise a child, let alone one with a mental handicap, he moved in with Itachi's parents and had since then been living under their roof. He had been held back several grades due to his inability to concentrate in class and work at an equal level with those his age. For the most part, he was a social outcast and often bullied because he was defenseless. Most people thought he was weird simply because of his mask, and after getting to know his personality they avoided him all the more due to his childish behavior.

Zetsu was quite fond of Tobi and walked home with him afterschool everyday, in an effort to make sure he wasn't bullied. He enjoyed his company, though it didn't take a long time for him to be exasperated by his annoying friend and wonder why he even tolerated his stupidity. But then he would feel bad and decide that maybe Tobi wasn't so bad after all.

Tobi's only other friends were Deidara and Itachi. The other Uchiha was his cousin and naturally he had learned how to tolerate his small quirks. Deidara, on the other hand, commanded a great deal of respect from Tobi and although he was often annoyed by the boy, he also showed that he was fond of him and willing to take care of him when he was being bullied.

"Hello, Zetsu-san! Did you and the others have a meeting? Was it an official Akatsuki meeting? What did you guys talk about?" Tobi questioned eagerly. One thing he had always loved was talking about the Akatsuki. He was eager to join them and although Zetsu had told him that there was no chance he would be allowed into the gang, he continued to persist in trying. He always expressed his interest in joining, but Zetsu told him that there was very little chance of that actually happening.

"We talked about Chikara. **Why are you always so nosy**?"

"Oooooh, is that the people with the blue bracelets? Some of them are very mean to me."

"Pein has ordered that we must be partnered with someone else as protection. We have to stay close during school and walk back home afterschool. **Therefore I'm being partnered with you so nobody bothers you**," Zetsu explained, already wearied with Tobi's erratic movements.

"_Really?_ Does that mean I'm part of the Akatsuki?" At this he almost seemed to burst with happiness.

"**No, it does not, you deluded moron**. It simply means that Pein is concerned for your wellbeing. But I won't be able to walk back with you for the next few days so you'll have to walk back with Deidara and Sasori."

"Eh? Why not?"

"**None of your business. **Just find Deidara afterschool and walk back with him."

"Shouldn't I walk with Itachi-san? We live in the same house," Tobi asked, slightly confused. The members of the Akatsuki lived relatively close together aside from Pein, Konan, Kakuzu and Hidan. They lived on the other side of the town, which was what had resulted in the unfortunate pairing.

"Itachi has private tutoring and Kisame has swim training. **You'd get bored waiting, so just walk with Deidara**."

"Okay, Zetsu-san!"

- 0 -

- 0 -

- 0 -

"What do you have now, Danna, un?" Deidara asked, catching up to the redhead. They had just left the cafeteria together, keeping to the new 'partners' rule and already Sasori was growing tired of his friend. He would have preferred being partnered with someone more composed and serious like Kakuzu or Itachi, not a cocky, long haired bomb enthusiast with a twisted perspective on art.

"Psychology, with Mr. Morino."

"Another round of mental torture? That guy is a complete psycho, un."

Sasori wasn't inclined to disagree, having been in Ibiki Morino's class for a few years now. He had been subject to Mr. Morino's unique…teaching methods and although the man was brilliant, he also seemed to be bordering on psychotic. Sasori wouldn't be surprised if he mistook his students for mental patients.

"You have Math, don't you?"

"Yeah, with Hidan. He's going to be pissed about this new pairing system, especially because he's with Kakuzu, un. I'd be surprised if they were both alive by the end of the week," Deidara mused, only half-joking. They reached their lockers and he pulled out his Math books, tucking them under his arm. Unlike Sasori's locker, which was organized and bare of pictures, his was messy with papers and dozens of photographs stuck onto the door and small carvings on the metal. The pictures were mostly of him with Hidan or with his younger sister, Ino. There was one that was with the other members of the Akatsuki, but not many considering Deidara was a recent addition to their group. "What do you think of this partner thing? I bet you don't like it."

"It doesn't matter whether I like it or not. I don't wish to challenge Pein's authority on the subject. He always makes the right choices when it concerns the Akatsuki, so I never question him," Sasori said sternly. Then he paused, his lips twitching. "But yeah, I don't like it." His friend laughed at this admittance.

"You _never _challenge his authority? What did Pein do to deserve such loyalty, un?"

"None of your business, brat," Sasori snapped, scowling at the blond. "Don't stick your nose into things that don't concern you." The change in tension was immediate and they glared at each other, infuriated. Sasori didn't like people prying into his personal issues, let alone immature brats like Deidara.

The turned the corner in silence, any sign of friendliness now completely diminished. Sasori noticed that the blond's shoulders were tensed and his lips were set in a grim line. He had a feeling that the next few days were going to be awkward ones as he wouldn't be on the receiving end of Deidara's friendliness. Not that he cared – it simply made things more difficult for him.

The two of them had had very little contact since Deidara's initiation. They simply weren't the sort of people to naturally get along and their discussions usually ended in frustration and impatience. It was a bit like Kakuzu and Hidan, but with less shouting and a lot more bitter silence. The amount of death threats was about the same, though.

It never occurred to him that he should apologize for being short with Deidara; it was the blond's fault for prying into his personal matters. Before they split up, he stopped Deidara:

"I won't be able to walk back with you today, so you'll have to be alone with Tobi and Zetsu. I need to stay behind in the chemistry lab. I'll walk back with Itachi and Kisame," he said. Deidara didn't ask why this time. He simply shrugged and stormed off into class, leaving behind his partner.

Maybe this partnership system wasn't such a good idea after all, Sasori pondered. But Pein's orders had never led them astray, so he trusted them fully and decided that in the long run, he would see the benefits of this idea.


	2. The Breaking of Pencils

**Notes: **Madara Uchiha does not exist in this universe. He will not appear in any of the future chapters, so don't hold your breath if you're waiting for his appearance anywhere. And I need to stress that Tobi and Deidara are simply friends. As for Zetsu and Tobi, I guess it will be clearer in later chapters what their relationship is. Hope you enjoy and please review!

Chapter Two

The Breaking of Pencils

"This is fucking unfair. There's no fucking way I'm hanging around that Jashin damn _miser _all day long. I'd rather kill myself, or better yet, kill him," Hidan complained, pressing his pencil so violently into his paper that it snapped in half. He threw it aside angrily and retrieved another, ignoring the yelp of pain from the person next to him. It was the third piece of stationery he'd broken that day. And Deidara was guessing that it wouldn't be the last.

The silver-haired Jashinist had not stopped bitching about the new responsibility they had been given since class had started. Granted, he complained about most of the orders that they were issued but this one had really pushed him to the limit. Deidara had a feeling that although Pein thought this was for the best, pairing Kakuzu and Hidan together was going to cause nothing but problems. The two fought each other more than they fought their enemies.

Now he had to endure Hidan's constant swearing and grumbling – something that would have exasperated him if he weren't used to it. He was, after all, Hidan's best friend and therefore expected to listen to his meaningless rants. Plus it didn't bother him so much if it distracted him from his own predicament with Sasori.

"He's such a cheap asshole – all he does is complain about me spending money and how I'm unproductive and a waste of space and time. He's such a…such a…"

Deidara, who had been filling out his own notes, frowned and glanced up just in time to see Hidan pitch forward suddenly. He would have slammed his head onto the table if his friend had not grabbed him in time and pulled him upright. Nobody in the class had noticed, thankfully, and their teacher was too busy reading an Icha Icha Paradise novel to be aware of anything around him. Deidara leaned in close to the Jashinist, feeling concerned.

"Hidan, are you okay, un? What just happened? Are you sick?" he whispered, feeling his forehead for signs of a fever. There were none. Hidan blinked heavily and pushed his hand away, shaking his head.

"No, I'm not sick. It's…it's from the ritual. I might've gone a little bit overboard and spilled too much blood this morning. I've been feeling dizzy all day," he explained, sounding bleary and tired.

"Well, you do look a little pale, un." It was true. Hidan had gone even paler than usual – quite an impressive feat – and still looked ready to drop at any second. He swayed slightly, then regained his composure, putting his head on his hands and rubbing his eyes to stay awake. "Do you need to go to the nurse?"

"Huh? Oh…hell no. I hate that place. I'll just rest here for a bit."

Deidara gave him a few minutes of rest, feeling worry bubbling up inside of him. He hated Hidan's Jashinist rituals. They were dangerous and messy and although most of the time Hidan managed to stop himself from losing too much blood, sometimes he would get so caught up in his meditation or whatever it was and stop only when he'd lost copious amounts of blood. Then he would be dizzy and in danger of passing out until he healed.

It wasn't that Deidara worried about the passing out during school, but he had once walked in on Hidan completely unconscious during a ritual in a puddle of blood that he had deduced as large enough to be fatal. He had panicked and driven him to the hospital where the doctor had drilled him with various questions on whether Hidan was suicidal. It had been a torturous few hours because he hadn't thought of a good enough lie that would make Hidan sound sane and keep him out of a mental hospital. Luckily, Pein had arrived and smoothed things over. It was also the day he had offered Hidan and Deidara a place in the Akatsuki.

Hidan had since then done his rituals less frequently and with a lot more awareness of the amount of blood he was losing, but every so often he still slipped up. And that scared Deidara.

"You know what I think of these rituals, un," he muttered, when Hidan seemed to have composed himself quite a bit. As he lifted his hand to slick back his hair, Deidara caught sight of the numerous cuts on his arm. Most of them were thin straight lines that would label Hidan as a cutter, but some of them were in the shape of the Jashin symbol. The cuts weren't a sign of depression or attention seeking, but they were the product of his strict – self-destructive, in Deidara's opinion – religion that required the regular spillage of blood. He didn't understand Jashinism, and he didn't really want to understand it.

"Yeah, yeah, you've told me how much you hate this shit. I don't like it either but I have to do it," Hidan said. He groaned, tilting his head back and staring at the ceiling. "This is a nightmare. I don't think I can do this, Deidara. Hang around that fucker during _and _after school? I'd be surprised if we lasted a week…"

"Just give it a try, un. For Pein, at least. You _know _he's got to have some good reasoning, so just stick it out for him." Despite Hidan's disrespectful attitude towards their leader, it was clear that he was just as solid in his loyalty as the others.

The Akatsuki had offered them a place in the school, in the town that had never felt like a home. The moment they had been initiated, they hadn't been able to shake the feeling that they had become a part of something _important_, something special. It was as if they had been waiting for something like this their whole life and when Pein had extended his hand, when he'd pulled them out of the gutter – an apt description for their previous life – he had rescued them. It was the reason they all saw him as the natural leader. Even if Hidan complained about the orders given, he never questioned whether the position of leader was the right one for Pein.

"Cocky bastard. I've known that guy since preschool and never once talked to him until the day he came into my hospital room and offered me a place in his gang."

"Same here, un. Why'd you say yes?"

Hidan tapped his pencil against the table, looking thoughtful. "I always figured that it was because of religion. If I've got the Akatsuki backing me up, then those assholes can't laugh at Jashinism anymore."

"I doubt any dared laugh about your religion to your face, un," Deidara muttered under his breath. Only the stupidest person would dare blaspheme Jashinism in front of Hidan, who had no inhibitions when it came to stabbing people who pissed him off. The only person who truly dared to say more than the occasional insult was Kakuzu, which was probably where Hidan's hatred stemmed from.

"And Jashin likes power. When Pein stepped into my room, I could just sense the power…_radiating _around him. Everything he said to me was the truth, because he didn't need to lie. When he asked me to join the Akatsuki, it was like my whole Jashin damn life had been building up to that moment. There's was no way I could say no," Hidan said, frowning at the table. Under his hands, the pencil snapped in half. Frustrated he chucked it behind him, hitting another poor innocent. "Could I borrow a pencil or something? I've run out."

Deidara silently handed him a pencil and turned back to the front, deep in thought. He didn't mention it, but Hidan's answer to his question had been the exact reason he himself had joined. He didn't like the fact that their coming together in this gang had been like fate. If asked, none of the Akatsuki believed in fate. All of them were powerful, to the point where they hated the thought that they couldn't control their own destinies.

Up in front, their Mr. Hatake looked over his book and stared straight at them, as if he'd been aware that they hadn't been working the whole time. Deidara would have liked to think it wasn't possible, but after years of being taught by this man, he had come to learn that nothing escaped him. Not that it really mattered. He wasn't one for disciplining his students or yelling at them when they didn't pay attention. He had a laissez-faire method where he would allow the students to do what they wanted while he taught, only very rarely reminding them to work. Strangely, most of them still decided to listen intently when he spoke.

The silver-haired man's eyes traveled around the classroom where people were either taking notes or whispering to each other. His eyes landed on two students who were passing notes to each other and he cleared his throat.

"The two in the corner, I would suggest you stop passing notes and start reading your textbooks unless you want to fail the surprise quiz I will be setting you on Wednesday," he said. The two students stopped, looking sheepish.

"But sir, it's not a surprise quiz if you tell us when you're setting it," one of them said, with a hint of cheekiness in her voice.

"It will be a surprise for you if you don't know how to answer a single question on it. It will also be a surprise if I decide to set it tomorrow instead of on Wednesday. It's your choice."

With that, he went back to reading his book and Deidara knew that he wouldn't be very responsive for the next few minutes. He looked down at his page and sighed as he realized he'd spend most of the lesson so far doodling little explosions onto his page. He was smart, but never put much effort into school besides art class. And even then his teachers didn't allow him to make explosives for 'security purposes'. He was pretty much an average student, which was the same for Hidan, unlike all of the other members who were at the top end of their classes.

"How much you wanna bet that cheap asshole joined for the money?" Hidan whispered suddenly.

"I refuse to bet on that. Of _course _he joined for the money. Not to mention he was Pein's friend before Akatsuki existed, un," Deidara replied. "He loves this organization. Pein entrusts him with all the gang's finances and gets him to collect all the money that people give us for those stupid missions."

"Really? So he's like the gang's treasurer? That greedy bastard will do anything to get his hands on money."

"Yeah, Tobi told me about some of the really shady deals that Kakuzu has been doing with some people, un. Apparently he meets with the _worst _type of people and gets shitloads of money selling some of the drugs that Sasori develops. It seems Pein is planning to branch out once we leave high school and become an official 'evil' organization. He wants to start making connections and get as much influence as he can before graduation, un," Deidara mumbled, keeping his voice as low as possible. "Which is why he keeps sending us out on those random missions – people are hiring us to do all those dangerous missions with promises that if we ever get caught they remain anonymous."

"No shit, huh? That's pretty insane. But it sounds like something Pein would do," Hidan said, keeping his head low. He stopped, puzzled for a second. "Wait a second, you say _Tobi _told you all this? How the hell would that dumbshit know about any of this?"

"Zetsu tells Tobi a lot about what's going on, un. And none of it means anything to Tobi, but he tells me when I ask. I don't think he knows how important any of it is," was the explanation.

Tobi adored Deidara for some reason that no one understood. The blond had once stepped in while Tobi was being tormented by a group of tattooed druggies and the two of them had escaped barely alive. But since then Deidara had acquired a godlike worship from Tobi.

Although Deidara verbally abused the boy at every chance he had and tried to discourage Tobi from following him around, the Uchiha still stuck to his 'Deidara-senpai' like glue. It was annoying, but he did have some fondness for Tobi, especially because he learned a lot of useful things about Akatsuki that were confidential to the older members.

"Tch, he's such a little fucktard. I don't know how you stand to be around him without attempting murder. I'd have sacrificed him to Jashin by now if I were you."

"He's not so bad," Deidara admitted. "Way too excitable and-" He yelped as someone grabbed his hair and pulled it back roughly. Eyes watering, he turned around and found himself looking at a member of Chikara, Teru. The black-haired boy had his fingers painfully tangled in Deidara's long hair and was tugging it backwards without mercy.

"You should get a hair cut, _Dei-da-ra_. Otherwise people are gonna think you're a woman," Teru hissed spitefully, letting go of the blond locks.

"Shut the fuck up. Can't you see we're having a private conversation, cocksucker?" Hidan said, throwing his eraser at the boy, who dodged it and stuck his middle finger up at the Jashinist. Teru was one of the main members of the Chikara, and one of Tobi's main antagonists. He wore a blue and black striped band instead of just a plain blue one, which was reserved for the core members, unlike the others who were associated but not within the inner circle. Deidara hated the teen with a passion.

"Hidan, don't swear in class," Mr. Hatake said, completely bored. He seemed to be ignoring the situation but as Deidara watched, his eyes narrowed and he kept a close watch on them, lowering his book slightly.

"Yeah, Hidan, don't fucking swear in class," Teru mocked. Deidara was busy untangling his hair to notice that Hidan's cheeks were turning slightly red – a bad sign that there was going to be violence at any moment.

"Don't piss me off. When I'm pissed off, I can't think straight, and there's no telling what I might do."

"You're such a freak, Hidan, with your cutting and your fake god. Jashinism is just some fucked up excuse for self-mutilation and destruction that-"

He was forced to stop talking when a fist met his face, sending him barreling into the desk behind him. The girl sitting there shrieked and jumped up as Hidan lunged out of his seat and tackled Teru to the ground, screaming nonsensical words and cursing heavily. He began to pummel the boy under him, ignorant of the droplets of blood splashing onto his face.

"Hidan, stop! You'll get in trouble!" Deidara shouted, grabbing his friend's shirt and trying to pull him back. He failed, but suddenly an arm reached forward and hauled the Jashinist off with ease, despite his spasmodic flailing.

"_Don't fucking insult Jashin, you bastard! Don't talk about-"_

"Hidan, enough," Mr. Hatake said flatly. Up close, Deidara could see the infamous left eye of Kakashi Hatake, which was a terrifying blood red in contrast to the black of his other, normal eye. Both eyes were half-closed and he seemed pretty relaxed for someone who was lifting a struggling Hidan above the ground with only one hand.

Even though he'd barely raised his voice, Hidan stopped, breathing heavily and swearing under his breath. He was glaring daggers at Teru and it was almost a certainty that if Mr. Hatake hadn't stepped in his face would've been unrecognizable. As it was, he had a black eye, a bruised cheek and a cut lip.

"I'm afraid that this behavior merits a detention, Hidan. Today afterschool, and no excuses."

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- 0 -

- 0 -

The bell rang, signifying that the last class had finally ended for the day. Deidara had to run after Hidan who stormed out of the class, fists clenched at his side. Everyone who passed him quickly jumped out of the way, afraid that he was going to lash out. Like Kakuzu, he was known for being particularly violent towards anyone who annoyed him.

"I have to walk back with Tobi and Zetsu, un. Sasori's staying back in the chemistry lab, probably to develop some of those poisons Tobi was telling me about," Deidara said once Hidan had slowed down. The albino stopped, breathed in deeply and ran his fingers through his hair, trying to calm down. Once he seemed to have lost his thunderous mood, he grimaced. "You okay?"

"Whatever, I'm fine. It's just those...those _bastards _who keep _playing _with us and getting us in trouble. And it's obvious that they target us a lot more than anyone else. The only thing is they haven't done is full-on attack us, and that's because they don't want to draw too much attention to themselves…yet."

The two of them were silent as they began to wonder just how significant the rise of the new gang was. At the moment Akatsuki seemed omnipotent. They ruled over the school and over the town as well. It was an unsaid rule that they were the most powerful force in Konoha. Nobody dared to confront them, because not only were all of their members powerful, but they had a way of knowing everything that happened.

"Kakuzu's coming over," Deidara noted suddenly, pointing to the other end of the hall. The tanned man was making his way towards them, walking in a completely straight line while everyone else moved out of the way of his imposing figure. Like Kisame, Kakuzu was tall and had a muscular build that allowed him to do pretty much whatever he wanted without being confronted. It also helped that he was one of the most temperamental people in the school and had the physical strength to back it up. "Looking forward to telling him you got a detention?"

"Aw, shit. He's going to destroy me." They reached their lockers and Hidan wrenched the door open and chucked his things inside roughly. "Of all the crappy-"

At that exact moment, a hand shot out and pushed Hidan forward into his locker, so that his shoulders slammed painfully into the side of the locker and the door and his head nearly smashed into the back. He yelped and the impact nearly made him stumble and fall onto the floor. Books went sliding out of his locker onto the floor in a complete mess along with papers and stationery.

"What the _hell _was that_?_" he snapped, whirling around. There were few people in the hall and the culprit would have gone unnoticed if not for the hysterical laughter a couple of feet away from them. Two boys in their year were leaning against the wall, howling with laughter at their little joke.

One of them was Connor, an American with brown hair and an unpleasant personality. The other was Takashi who was not so much cruel as immature and mean-spirited. He was a born bully and by far his favorite target was Tobi, which led to him being heavily disliked by Deidara. The two of them were sporting blue and black striped bands and had been from the moment Chikara had begun to emerge.

One of them had pushed Hidan and now they watched with amusement as he straightened, looking strangely calm.

"More Chikara members. You guys are like cockroaches – you never seem to die. And you're ugly too," he drawled, a murderous glint in his eyes. Deidara braced himself and wrapped his arms around Hidan as he tried to jump forward, hands outstretched and ready to strangle whomever he reached.

"Let me go, Deidara! I can take them!" he yelled, trying to escape from Deidara's hold and laughing madly. Although the blond would have liked nothing more than to let him go and watch as he tried to rip them to shreds, he knew that in his current mood Hidan was likely to cross the limit and send them to the hospital, a move which would surely get him expelled.

"Don't, Hidan! You're in enough trouble already, un," he gasped, unable to breath Hidan's elbow connected with his stomach and he almost let go. Hidan was _strong_ when he was angry. He was amazed that anyone really ever dared to cross him, considering he didn't really have any inhibitions when it came to violence. If Deidara hadn't been there to stop him, Connor and Takashi would've been beaten to a pulp, despite their advantage in numbers. They didn't seem to realize that and only laughed harder.

"_I don't care! I'll rip them to shreds! I'll teach them to cross me!_"

Deidara was in danger of letting go when he looked up and saw that Kakuzu had reached them. Silently, he took in the situation with narrowed eyes. When he turned to glare at the two Chikara members, they both paled and ran off without a word, knowing that Kakuzu was twice as strong as Hidan and just as willing to crack their heads open if bothered.

"Kakuzu, you lousy bastard, I could've taken them; you shouldn't have stepped in." As usual, Hidan was generous with his gratitude. "I would've messed them up if Deidara had just let go of me." Angrily, he shrugged of Deidara's grip. "They're starting to really piss me off, lousy atheists."

Kakuzu turned to Deidara, ignoring the annoyed Jashinist. "Zetsu asked me to inform you that he won't be able to walk back home until it's late, so it's just you and Tobi."

Deidara nodded. Hopefully if they came across trouble, Tobi wouldn't get in his way. Although he knew that the Uchiha could fend for himself if he really tried. He wasn't weak, just stupid. And when it came to fighting he tended to get distracted easily. "Thanks for telling me, un."

"Hidan, get your crap. We're going," Kakuzu ordered. He lips pulled down in displeasure when Hidan began to laugh nervously, reaching up to scratch the back of his head.

"Aha, right, eh…about that, Kakuzu, I uh…kind of have a freaking detention now," he said, looking sheepish. "I punched Teru…in the face. So you're going to have to…heheheh…stay back." For a second, there was nothing but a tense silence and it was obvious that Hidan was preparing himself for either a punch in the face or a death threat. Kakuzu's fist clenched momentarily before he forced himself to relax. He took a step forward, glowering at Hidan:

"I'll meet you back here in an hour. _Don't _be late or I _will _skin you alive." And with that he turned and began to walk off, surprisingly quiet for someone of his stature. The two of them held their breaths until he disappeared around the corner and when they exhaled the relief was thick in the air.

"You got off easy. I thought he was going to break your face, un," Deidara laughed.

"Same here. Must've let me off because it was that prick, Teru. He hates him just as much as we do," Hidan mused. Then he sighed, looking resigned. "Ah well, better be off to detention, otherwise they'll probably call my fucking Dad about my behavior. Plus Mr. Hatake will make me stay back if I'm late, and I don't want Kakuzu to kick my ass. Not that he could, yeah – I'm just saying that it would be annoying."

"Just try getting along with him. You have a year left before he graduates so you might as well. You don't have to like him, but at least you can try hating him a little less, un," Deidara suggested. In truth, he wasn't so sure that there was any hope for the pair. It wasn't impossible for them to get along, despite their conflicting personalities. The only problem was the fact that they were so busy hating each other, they never even bothered to attempt being civil. They just assumed that they got on the other's nerves, which led to fights and shouting and abhorrence.

Hidan shrugged, looking bored. "Yeah, whatever. At least he's silent most of the time; I can tolerate that. As long as he doesn't fuck around with his stupid money, then I won't get pissed off. I'll see you tomorrow. Good luck finding Tobi. Knowing him he probably decided to give up on waiting and just walk home by himself." And with that he strolled off, heading back to class.

It took a few seconds for Deidara to register exactly what his friend had said before realizing that it was probably what had happened. He glanced at the clock on the wall and deduced that he was about ten minutes late and Tobi had probably thought he wasn't coming. He wasn't the most patient person considering his short attention span and despite his numerous encounters with unpleasant people, his innocent outlook on life blinded him to any dangers he might come across. The idiot was probably already on his way home by himself.

"Aw, shit," he muttered, before turning and sprinting as fast as he could towards the entrance of the school.

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- 0 -

"Hey, is that Tobi standing by the doors?" Kisame asked, squinting his eyes. He could vaguely make out a tall figure near the school entrance, back facing the two teens currently outside. The figure turned and Kisame was greeted with a bright orange swirly blob where a face should have been. "Oh, never mind. It's him. What's he doing all alone?" As he watched, Tobi whirled around and began to hop on one foot, warbling a strange tune to himself – his method of keeping himself entertained.

Itachi, who had been reading his history textbook silently up until now, glanced up to where his friend was pointing. For a few seconds he was silent before closing the book with great care so as not to fold any of the pages. He tucked the book into his bag where it stuck out from one of the pockets.

"Most likely he is waiting for Deidara. Sasori is walking back with us and Zetsu has probably been assigned to gather information on the Chikara, which means he won't be able to walk back with Tobi," he said tonelessly. He also did not seem surprised by Tobi's shameless dancing and singing, although a few passer-bys shot him concerned glances.

"How do you know what Zetsu's doing? Pein didn't mention anything about that."

"I simply assumed that since Pein is beginning to worry about the Chikara, he will ask Zetsu to spy on the other gang. This is only supported by the fact that Zetsu has not shown up to accompany Tobi home. Either he's busy or he's late. Zetsu is never late, and the only other thing he would be doing is a mission for Pein."

"You think too much."

"And you don't think at all." A rare joke from Itachi. The jab caused Kisame to look mock-wounded and he crossed his bulky arms, leaning back against the wall. Absent-mindedly he played with the necklace under his shirt. It wasn't so much a necklace as a single shark tooth on a worn out piece of string. It was from when he was surfing many years ago and a shark had appeared out of nowhere and bitten his surfboard in half. Help had been much too far and he would've surely died if the shark had decided to attack again but strangely enough it had circled him a few times before swimming away, leaving nothing but a jagged tooth lodged in his mangled board. Hidan joked that the shark had identified him as "family" and therefore left him alone.

He fiddled with the necklace for a few minutes as Itachi returned to his textbook. The teen was always studying – morning, noon and night. He woke up early in the morning to study, paid full attention during class, took afterschool private tutoring to improve his studies and went home to study before sleeping.

Although he and Kisame were best friends, Kisame actually couldn't remember many times when they had ever done something together that normal kids did. They spoke during school, and every once in a while they would eat dinner together or hang out, but the occasions were so rare they were almost non-existent. In fact, it was probably strange that they were so close considering Kisame spent more time outside of school with the other members of the Akatsuki. But Itachi was his best friend and that was a fact.

At the moment, his best friend was too busy reading to notice the scene a few meters away on the street. Kisame saw it, and for a few seconds he didn't really process what was happening, as he couldn't recognize the people involved. Then the tallest of the group turned and he felt a wave of displeasure course through him as he realized what was happening.

"Itachi." The serious tone in his voice made his friend glance up immediately, on the alert for danger. "Over there." He jerked his head in the direction of the scene and watched as Itachi's eyes followed where he was gesturing. The moment he caught sight of what Kisame was indicating, his eyes narrowed dangerously and the corners of his lips twitched. It was a lot more emotion than he usually showed and there was only one reason behind this – Sasuke.

His little brother was currently backed against the wall, arms crossed and face expressionless. He seemed relatively calm compared to his hyperactive blond friend Naruto, who was yelling angrily at a boy with long white hair tied back and glasses. Sasuke, on the other hand, was focused entirely on Orochimaru, who was smirking down at him and talking softly.

The two Akatsuki members immediately approached, walking at a medium pace without any intent on rushing, though it was clear that Itachi was keen to break up this little meeting. Kisame cracked his knuckles, feeling eager for a fight. There was even the possibility that Itachi might not stop him from getting too violent. He wasn't as neutral and unaffected when things concerned his precious little brother.

When they were in earshot, they could hear snippets of Orochimaru and Sasuke's conversation, though it was difficult with Naruto yelling in the background.

"I've told you that I'm not interested," Sasuke was saying, and there was a small twitch in his cheek that showed he was clearly getting annoyed by Orochimaru's persistence. There was a time when he had listened to the older boy, but that had changed once Itachi had gotten involved. Now he seemed eager to end the conversation and leave. But he still did not seem to have the ability to simply walk away.

"Perhaps you should…reconsider, Sasuke." Kisame winced as Orochimaru spoke. He despised the way every sentence sounded like he was hissing the words. In fact, he hated everything about Orochimaru from his bright yellow eyes to his strangely calm yet influential voice. He was the sort of person that weak people seemed to find fascinating, to the point of unfailing loyalty. He was the person people searched for when they wanted some phony sense of purpose in their lives. When they wanted to escape from their own seemingly disappointing reality.

Kisame cleared his throat loudly to get their attention and as Sasuke glanced up and realized they had an audience, relief was evident on his face. He hadn't learned to control his expressions as well as his brother. It was probably the influence of his loud friend, who seemed to experience the full spectrum of emotions daily. Said friend was glaring hatefully at both Orochimaru and Kabuto, who seemed calm despite their appearance.

"Nii-san," Sasuke muttered, putting a hand on Naruto's shoulder to calm him down. The blond tensed, then stepped back reluctantly.

"Sasuke, Naruto, go home," Itachi said, his voice soft. His younger brother nodded and left without hesitation. Naruto waved them goodbye and followed after him, almost immediately back to his cheerful self now that they were away from their antagonists. Once the boys were out of hearing range, the Uchiha's expression hardened considerably and when he spoke, his voice was like steel. "I do believe I told you to stay away from Sasuke. I thought you were more intelligent than to ignore that advice."

"I was simply speaking to him about my new…group of friends," Orochimaru answered calmly, with that unnerving smile still on his face. As Kisame watched, his tongue darted out and ran across his lips so quickly he almost didn't catch it.

"I made it clear that you were not to harass Sasuke or his friends anymore. Don't make the mistake of thinking that you're untouchable, Orochimaru. You no longer have the Chikara to support your actions." Orochimaru's expression flickered slightly and for a second Kisame could see that the remark had had some effect. His separation from Chikara had obviously not been mutual and he did not like to be reminded of it.

"I assure you that you have misunderstood my intentions, Itachi. Then again…you always expected the worst from me. What have I done to deserve this animosity?" The teen answered calmly. Kisame clenched his fists. Orochimaru always seemed so calm, so arrogant as if nothing could ever hurt him. And so far, he had always been protected at some point.

He had joined the Chikara a few months back when it had just formed, and had for some reason set his sights on Sasuke Uchiha. Nobody really knew why he bothered the boy so much – Sasuke refused to mention what they ever talked about – but it was obvious to everyone that he had an ulterior motive. All Itachi knew was that when his little brother had followed Orochimaru's lead, he had not only lost all of his friends but he had begun to get in trouble – with his teachers, with his parents and in one atrocious incident, with the police.

At about the same time, Itachi had joined the Akatsuki. He had simply walked up to Pein and requested to join the gang. Eager to have such an intelligent member in the group, Pein had of course accepted. Then one day Orochimaru left the Chikara, whether willingly or not, it didn't matter. And without anyone to protect him, Itachi had forced him to leave his little brother alone. Sasuke had regained the trust of his friends and pulled his grades back up until all the costs of his bad decisions had been erased.

As of yet, Orochimaru had steered clear of Sasuke. But this current incident made it obvious that the younger Uchiha had not been informing his brother that he was still being harassed.

When Itachi spoke, his eyes darkened. "I will not have you put my brother in danger once again. He has severed all contact with you and you would do well to respect his wishes. Must I remind you of the consequences if you continue to disregard my warning?"

Orochimaru paused, momentary apprehension flickering across his face. As persistent as he was, even he recognized the drawbacks of getting on the Akatsuki's bad side. He was fully aware that Itachi's threat was not an idle one. Kabuto bristled, looking ready to step forward but Orochimaru stopped him.

"I wouldn't be so confident if I were you, _Itachi_. I may not have Chikara by my side, but I still have loyal followers who owe me a lot of favors."

"Kisame."

In one swift movement the blue-skinned teen had stepped forward, grabbed Orochimaru by the neck and slammed him into the wall, making sure to squeeze his neck just enough for him to feel the pressure, but not enough to choke. The man didn't even struggle, knowing that it was futile against Kisame's raw physical strength. He relaxed, simply staring at Itachi without saying anything. Even though his whole posture was tranquil, Kisame could feel him trembling slightly under his grip. Nobody could deny that Kisame was a dangerous man, and without Itachi to hold him back he would be unstoppable.

"Hey! Let go of him!" Kabuto yelled, spurred into action. He grabbed onto Kisame's arm, his own arms looking puny compared to the bulging muscles.

Itachi moved forward, his eyes not leaving Orochimaru's for one second. The two of them were locked in an intense battle of dominance, but unfortunately the large, blue hand wrapped around his throat wrecked the effect of Orochimaru's stare.

"This is your last warning, Orochimaru. I know you have influence on people, and so far the only reason I have not taken action is because I do not want to cause Pein any added stress to his situation. But you _will _leave Sasuke alone. I would do anything to stop people like you from influencing my little brother, even if it means you have to disappear...permanently."

Kabuto had stilled by his point, and his arms had flopped to his sides. The light reflecting off his lenses hid his eyes and he hesitated before moving back, unable to decide whether he himself was in danger. The tense pause was enunciated by the murmuring of the other students leaving the school in clusters. The sudden burst of people from the doors seemed to break the concentration of their meeting and finally Itachi spoke once again:

"Kisame, let's go."

"Aww, but I want to fight," Kisame complained, but he released Orochimaru nonetheless. The teen dropped to his feet silently, as if nothing had happened and said nothing as the Uchiha turned to leave. He stopped for a moment, turning slightly before speaking:

"If I were you, I would leave this town. Otherwise you might find yourself encountering some very unpleasant people." Without waiting for a response he continued walking away.

Kisame chuckled and followed after, punching Kabuto in the face for good measure and smirking as the white-haired boy yelped.

Once they were back at their original spot, Itachi gestured towards the side entrance of the school, which was closer to them. Most of the students had already scattered in their various journeys home and now only a few stragglers were left – whether they were waiting before going to their afterschool activity or they were simply speaking to friends.

"We should go. We're already late for our classes and my teacher will be worried," he said softly. His face was back to its usual blank stare and for the two of them there was an unspoken rule that none of this had ever taken place. Matters concerning the Uchiha family were separate from everything around them.

If either of them hadn't been lost in their own thoughts, they would have realized that Tobi had disappeared from the school entrance. They would have noticed him skipping down the street, obviously having decided that Deidara wasn't going to join him. They would have also noticed two familiar teens follow after him with forced casual attitudes, as if to hide that they weren't up to anything suspicious.

As it was, Itachi and Kisame climbed the stairs, entered the school and separated, each of them heading off in different directions.


	3. Tobi Is A Good Boy

**Notes: **Ah, this took me a while to write, but I'm happy because the plot thickens! Things will revolve a lot around Deidara – because he's such an awesome character – in the next few chapters. It's so much fun writing Akatsuki characters, especially Hidan, Tobi and Deidara. Anyway, nothing important to note in this chapter.

Chapter Three

Tobi is a Good Boy

Tobi wasn't at the front entrance of the school. It took about ten seconds for Deidara to fully realize this because he had sprinted to the entrance without stopping for breath. Upon reaching the entrance he collapsed on the railing, gasping and blinking fiercely. His vision was filled with flashing white lights and everything seemed to be swimming around out of his control. Despite the alarming absence of his friend, he took a few seconds to regain his breath and clutched the metal with trembling hands.

Once the heat in his face began to dissipate, he smoothed down his hair so as not to look too disheveled and approached a small group of girls having a conversation. One of them was his sister, Ino, who was chatting with her pink-haired friend and her shy friend. He knew their names, but couldn't be bothered to think of them at the moment. Ino and the other two were sitting on the steps, obviously not in any hurry to go home.

"Hey, Ino," he interrupted, cutting her off mid-sentence. She shot him an irritated glare – the type that she reserved only for her older brother.

"What? Can't you see I'm talking?"

He waved her off, uncaring. "You know Tobi, right?" At the blank look on her face, he continued, certain that she knew who the boy was. She did not know him well – he refused to allow Tobi inside his house knowing that he would just break everything – but she had met him once in a while. Not to mention Tobi was well known, simply for his odd appearance and personality. "Umm…tall guy, spiky black hair, un…mask…" He gestured feebly, moving his fingers in a swirling motion.

Probably due to her aggravation at his interruption, she wasn't even trying to remember and shook her head, flipping her hair at him. "Nope, don't know him. Now leave me alone, I'm talking to my friends."

"Come on Ino, I know you know him, un."

"No, I don't."

Thankfully, the shy girl who he knew as Hinata Hyuuga, spoke up. When she talked, it was soft and hesitant and she didn't seem to be able to look him directly in the eye:

"Y-you're talking about the boy with th-the swirly orange mask…right?" She pressed her index fingers together nervously, as if she was scared that he was going to yell at her for even daring to talk. "T-Tobi Uchiha?"

"Yeah, that's the one, un. You've seen him? Was he waiting out here? Do you know where he is?" Deidara questioned. Maybe it was the sheer number of questions, or the vivid curiosity in her brother's tone. Whatever it was, Ino's cold attitude dropped and she stared at him, slightly concerned. She could tell when things were serious and at this moment, her brother seemed to be bordering on panicking.

"He was waiting here for a while," Ino said, pointing at the entrance. "But he left a few minutes ago. He seemed pretty impatient but if you run you can probably catch up to him. He didn't seem…angry or anything, if that's what you're worried about."

Damn it, Tobi had left without him. That damn fool was going to get himself hurt. Deidara could feel it, he knew that something bad was going to happen and he cursed himself for being late. Quickly, he thanked the girls and turned to leave when Sakura's voice stopped him. She sounded hesitant, and slightly scared, as if she weren't sure whether she was about to deliver bad news or irrelevant news.

"I wasn't really sure but…I think he was being followed," she said. Deidara turned around, eyes widening. "I know one of them was Connor – he's my cousin's best friend – but I wasn't sure about the other one. I'm pretty sure he was Japanese and average height with hair down to his shoulders-"

"_Takashi_." The word was forced through gritted lips and the pink-haired girl flinched as if the fury was directed towards her.

"Um…yeah, that's the one. The two of them were following him – or at least, I _think _they were. Maybe they were just going in the same direction?"

He didn't reply, he had already taken off down the stairs at full speed and on the street he walked down every single weekday. Tiredness forgotten he concentrated on running as fast as he could, quickly taking inventory of everything he was carrying with him: two explosives, a lighter, a ball of white clay and a pen. The pen and clay were useless, but the explosives might come in handy if he needed a distraction. He was hesitant about using them – he sometimes went a little crazy when it came to his explosives.

The number of people on the streets were thinning out and for that he was glad. He could feel in his gut that something bad was about to happen, and it was best that there were less people to witness it. He didn't want to jeopardize the Akatsuki's reputation.

Ino had been right about the Uchiha's small head start– within minutes he could already hear the sound of Tobi's voice accompanied by two other voices. He turned the corner, shoes skidding against the ground with a low screeching sound. The gravel rolled under his feet, almost making him slip and fall to the ground. On the street in front of him, there was nobody in sight, but he could still hear his friend and the two Chikara members.

"Take off your mask, retard! What, you too chicken to show your face?"

"Bet it's an ugly face. Come on, Uchiha, _take off the mask_!"

He could hear the sounds of a struggle and Tobi wailing unhappily. He glanced around desperately, trying to search for the source of the sounds. He was sure they had disappeared in an alley somewhere and he warily walked forward.

"_Nooo! _Don't touch my mask! _Don't take it off!_" Tobi screamed shrilly, sobs permeating his voice. The distressed cries spurred on the blond, who suddenly decided he couldn't care less whether he was spontaneously putting himself in danger. Panicking, he sprinted forward, checking the alleys between each building. It was only until he reached the third one that he caught sight of the trio. He stopped for the second, analyzing the situation.

The three boys were standing next to piles of trash bags, most of which had split open and spilled out their contents. A few of those contents had ended up on Tobi, smeared on his shirt and pants.

Tobi himself was hunched over, gripping his mask with white-knuckled fingers as if his life depended on it not being taken off. He was rocking back and forth, struggling against his captors, one of whom was trying to hold him down while the other was trying to pry his mask off roughly. The Uchiha may have been stupid, but he wasn't physically weak and it was obvious that Takashi was having a difficult time trying to remove the mask.

"Let go, you goddamn spaz! _I wanna see your ugly face! _Show it! Show it!" Takashi yelled, but Tobi didn't budge.

"_Leave me alone! Tobi is a good boy!_"

He flailed momentarily, and his fist struck Takashi's face with unreal force, sending the boy spinning back into the wall. Blood spurted from his nose, splattering his face in an ugly red. He stumbled, too shocked to cry out. Instead he pushed himself off the wall dizzily, clawed hands a few inches away from his nose, which was quickly swelling. His mouth and jaw were covered in a gruesome mask of blood and if anything, he looked even more intimidating than before.

"You…you…" he seemed at a loss for words. His expression had transformed into one of uncontrollable rage and for a second Deidara was too paralyzed with fear to even move. "You _son of a bitch!_"

His closed fist slammed against the precious orange mask, against the side without the eyehole. Dozens of cracks appeared in the mask, traveling swiftly to the edges of the mask until after what seemed like an eternity, the orange swirls shattered and began to crumble, revealing pale white skin underneath.

The three others witnessing this event all seemed frozen in time as they watched the jagged pieces of the mask falling, landing on the ground with a soft _plink_ sound. A few small droplets of blood trickled down Tobi's face, followed by a few stray tears that streamed down a pre-existing trail.

Connor daringly broke the silence:

"God_damn_, you really are a freak," he gasped, backing away slightly, eyes wide with shock. He was staring at the face that had never been exposed in public for all the years that Tobi had been in school. Deidara himself couldn't control his curiosity and when the Uchiha turned slightly he caught sight of what he had never seen before.

The first thing he noticed was the gigantic, disfiguring scar tissue that traveled down the left side of Tobi's face, completely ruining the place where his eye once was. The eyelid had been sealed shut, most likely from a burn that had melted the skin and caused it to fuse together. His eyebrow was almost half gone and although his mouth had been left untouched, his cheek was a landscape of ridged and uneven scar tissue that would forever mark him as different. The other side of his face was similar to the rest of his family, with pitch-black hair, the distinct dark grey, red hued eyes of the Uchiha family and sharp yet good-looking features.

Deidara watched as Tobi made a soft keening sound, all the fight completely leaving him and he dropped to his knees, weakly scrabbling for the pieces of the mask as if he could glue them all back together and pretend that this never happened. He didn't notice when Takashi grabbed a broken baseball bat from the trash pile and swung it round before lifting it over his head.

"Not only are you mentally retarded, but you're fucking ugly too," he sneered. Then he brought the bat down with as much force as he could muster.

The path of the bat was interrupted when a hand wrapped around it, so tightly that the bat itself trembled. When Takashi looked up, Deidara could see his face pale in fear and he was sure that his expression was absolutely murderous. He wrenched the bat out of his grasp so violently that Takashi cried out when splinters dug into his hands.

"Fuck, that _hurt!_"

"Yeah? Well it'll be nothing compared to what I do next, un," Deidara snarled.

Connor was the fastest to react, lunging forward to grab at the blond but Deidara was quicker. He swung around, driving the round end of the bat into the boy's face and not even flinching when he heard a distinct _crack_. Connor yowled, his head snapping back and his hand reaching for his jaw. Staggering away, he leaned against the wall, too busy wallowing in his own pain to notice that Deidara had whirled around. The bat smashed into his stomach and he dropped like a stone onto the ground, groaning and trying to curl into a ball.

Deidara wasted no time basking in pride. He dropped the bat, reached for Takashi's shirt and gripped the front, lifting him off the ground with strength he hadn't realized he possessed. The teen was struggling, lashing out and protesting but he was ignored. Deidara slammed him against the wall.

"You…you absolute _bastard_, un. Where do you get off hurting people weaker than you are? How _dare _you terrorize an Akatsuki member?" he hissed, momentarily forgetting that Tobi wasn't a part of their group.

"We were just having a bit of fun," Takashi gasped, digging his nails into the blond's skin in a desperate attempt to escape. It was futile – he couldn't even feel the pain. "It was harmless, really! I just wanted to see what was under his mask! We were only playing around, honest!"

"Yeah? Is that what it was, Tobi? Just playing around?"

When he directed his questions towards Tobi, he winced, looking down at the pile of shattered pieces. He seemed too frightened to disagree, instead just whispering:

"Deidara-senpai…Tobi is a good boy…"

"We were just playing around, right Tobi?" Takashi said eagerly.

"Don't talk to him!" The was accompanied by a vicious right hook that cause his head to smack into the brick wall behind him. His shirt was released and he somehow remained on his feet, although it was obvious that the wind was knocked out of him.

Deidara pulled out his hair tie, so his ponytail fell out and draped over his shoulder. He took Takashi's hands and forced the band around them so that he couldn't pull his hands apart. It made for a poor restraint, but it was enough for what he was about to do. He fiddled in his pocket and found what he was looking for, drawing them out. Then he put his hands behind his back and clicked open the lighter. Takashi was too absorbed in his own agony to notice. He looked down blearily at his hands.

"What are you-"

Deidara interrupted him.

"I have a message to your leader from Pein about what happens if you fuck around with the Akatsuki, un."

He grabbed a hold of Takashi's hands and wedged the lit explosives between his palms, before backing away immediately. The realization hadn't hit the teen yet and he stared dumbly at his hands, which were enclosing the explosive tightly. Deidara grabbed Tobi and pulled him up roughly – ignoring the boy's yelp as the mask scattered everywhere – and took off.

"Deidara-senpai, my mask!"

"Forget it, Tobi! Let's go!" he yelled, taking off down the street. The urgency in his voice shut Tobi up and they ran out of the alley and onto the pavement, knocking past a group of teenage girls who shrieked. Ignoring them, they barreled past. All Deidara could think was – _What have I done? What have I done? What have I done what have I done what have I done_-

He heard the explosion, but it was a mere whisper compared to what came next. He had never heard an animalistic, inhuman scream such as the one that burst from his victim. It was so raw, so agonizing that he almost felt like his brain was going to explode inside his skull and his ears were going to bleed.

The scream was followed by others, but they were pitiful in comparison. They were more like choked, shocked gasps from the people who were looking around frantically, trying to find the source of that terrible sound. Nobody noticed the pair running away from the source of the howls. What were two frantically running teenage boys compared to the sounds of a human in complete and utter torture?

Deidara was running almost blindly, his eyes blurred with tears – not of sadness, but of complete and utter panic. Yet somehow he just knew he was running in the direction to his house. He could have walked home blindfolded but despite this, he felt Tobi move in front of him and suddenly he was being pulled.

Tobi seemed smart enough to run to Deidara's house and not his own. He slowed when they reached the doorstep, dragging Deidara straight to the door and raising his fist to pound on the door. Thankfully, the blond was clear-minded enough to stop him before he alerted the entire household that there was something wrong. He knew that Ino probably wouldn't be home yet, so he didn't have to worry about that. His parents weren't very involved with his life – but they would still be concerned by the pair's disheveled and bloodied appearance.

Instead he shushed Tobi and quietly crept into the house, not alerting anyone to their presence. Once they reached his room he yelled to his parents that he had returned home and closed the door, breathing a sigh of relief. He busied himself with finding the First Aid kit while his friend sat gingerly on his bed, emotionless and in shock.

Deidara's heart didn't stop thundering for what seemed like an eternity. He knew that they were far away from the alley where he'd fucked everything up, but strangely he could still hear the screams of his victim echoing in his head and knew that from now on, he would always hear those screams.

- 0 –

- 0 –

- 0 –

He gently dabbed at the numerous cuts on Tobi's face, wiping away the droplets of blood. His friend didn't even wince or move away from the stinging pain. Instead he simply stared blankly in front of him, almost completely unaware of Deidara's existence. He had not spoken for the past hour and hadn't answered any of the questions Deidara had posed.

Only when he was finished and had cleared everything away did the Uchiha finally speak, clearing his throat slightly:

"Deidara…senpai." His voice was slightly hoarse. "Thank you…for saving me from Takashi and Connor. They were not very nice; they broke my mask." He still held in his hands the last few remnants of the mask that he had been able to salvage. He played with the pieces, letting them roll around his fingers.

Deidara grunted in acknowledgment. "What the hell else was I supposed to do? Just walk away, un?"

"You could've if you wanted to…"

"Itachi and Zetsu would've killed me, un. And there's no way I would've let them get away with it. What kind of friend would that make me? Not to mention if I'd done nothing, the Chikara would assume that they can just screw us over without any consequences. This way, their leader will be informed that they should stay away from our members, un." He didn't want to mention the fact that he might have gone too far. What he had done wasn't in defense, it was full on mutilation of another human being. If the police found out, there was a likely possibility that he could go to jail.

"I'm not a member of the Akatsuki," the black-haired boy corrected. Deidara didn't have an answer to this, so instead he stood up and walked to his closet, opening it and pulling out the first clothes he found. He still had some blood on the sleeves of his shirt, which was an unfortunate white.

The color red made him nauseous, so he pulled on something black and then reached for a hair band, tying his hair back in its usual style. It was too strange to have it any other way.

"Why do you wear the mask, un?" he asked. Tobi glanced up, surprised then conflicted. He looked like he wanted to ignore the question, but the asker was his beloved 'Deidara-senpai'.

"I wear the mask because I'm ugly. People tease me anyway for being stupid. If I show them I'm ugly, they'd tease me even more."

"They tease you about the mask."

"It's not as bad. They can't see my face when they make fun of me." He reached up and touched his eyelid, which Deidara still had difficulty looking at even now. He hadn't flinched visibly in front of Tobi, but when he'd been cleaning the cuts on his face he had deliberately avoided looking at that eye.

"How did you even get the scars, un?"

Tobi refused to answer that question, even when his 'senpai' persisted. He just mumbled something about an accident and looked away, absent-mindedly asking what they were going to do now.

"Do you have anything to eat? I want something yummy," he insisted. He was met with refusal and instead dragged out of the house. Deidara wasn't going to let Tobi stay over in his house, especially since the boy would probably start talking to his parents and his sister and say something stupid or inappropriate and embarrass him.

Instead he opted for walking him home; it was only a ten-minute walk down a relatively empty street. Usually the roads were busier but luckily there didn't seem to be any cars around. This suited the two of them just fine, considering they needed the quiet to mull over their own thoughts.

Deidara felt completely lost. He was drowning in his own guilt and dread as he began to rewind the previous events in his head and wondered what the hell he had been thinking. He couldn't remember what had been going through his head at the moment when he placed that explosive in Takashi's hands. He couldn't believe he had done something so horrific. Not only had he deliberately mangled another human being – most likely beyond repair – but he had endangered the "good standing" of the Akatsuki. And if the boy went to the police, Deidara could go to prison. It would be a permanent black mark on the Akatsuki's record. They were known for being dangerous, but to be _caught_ was a humiliation he preferred not to suffer.

He agonized over what to tell Pein and the others. He knew that Tobi would do whatever he told him, so if he chose to hide this incident he wouldn't have to worry about the Uchiha revealing it. But then there was the possibility of the Chikara telling Pein about what he'd done. Even worse, the Chikara might search for vengeance for what he had done.

Either way, he was completely screwed.

Ultimately, as they reached the enormous mansion where Itachi and Tobi currently resided, Deidara settled for keeping what had happened a secret. He knew it was a stupid and cowardly move, but he wanted to delay the confrontations and disappointment for as long as possible. In this situation, he decided that right now he just preferred to deny that anything had happened. After all, he wasn't one to really consider the long-term repercussions of his actions. He wasn't like Sasori in that aspect. What mattered was the present, and presently he wanted to ignore that any of this had ever happened.

They rang the doorbell and waited. Tobi had never been entrusted with a key – he was too irresponsible and had a knack for losing important things.

"Tobi, I need you to listen to me, and listen to me well," he instructed, his voice completely serious. "I'm going to tell the others about Takashi and Connor bullying you. We need to inform Pein about the extent of their actions because what they did just went too far and it _can't _happen again. But you can't mention…the other thing that happened. You can't tell them what I did. As far as they will know – I stepped in, threw a few punches, grabbed you and got the hell out of there. Understand?"

Tobi looked confused.

"The other thing?" Then realization dawned on his face. "Oooooh. You mean how senpai made Takashi's hands explode like _boom! _And-" A dangerous glare from his friend stopped him. "But why not?"

"Because if you _tell _anyone, I could get in a lot of trouble. I might even go to jail," Deidara hissed.

Tobi's face visibly crumpled and he shook his head violently. The blond sighed, exasperated. He was just like a child – refused to see the reality. But before Deidara could say anything, the door to the Uchiha mansion opened to reveal the eldest Uchiha brother looking at them with a raised eyebrow.

He stared at them, his calm expression the equivalent to relief on a more emotional person's face. After all, Itachi would have definitely checked to see if his cousin was home when they arrived, before realizing that he was nowhere to be found. He would have been worried that something bad might have happened. Sadly, his assumption wasn't off-target.

When he caught sight of Tobi and his mask-less, cut up face he frowned, his eyes narrowing. He opened his mouth to say something but Tobi pushed past him, mumbling a greeting before running up the stairs. For Tobi, it was always better to simply stay silent when keeping a secret. He didn't deliberately reveal things; they just happened to spill out.

"Where's his mask? And what happened to his face?" Itachi asked. To anyone who didn't know him, his voice would have seemed flat, but Deidara could hear the undercurrent of anger.

"He didn't wait for me afterschool. Takashi and Connor caught up to him before I could, un."

"_They _did this to him?"

Deidara nodded. "They pushed way past the limit this time, un. I'm planning on talking to Pein tomorrow and maybe trying to convince him to let Tobi join the Akatsuki. People might leave him alone if he's part of the group," he explained.

"That would be for the best," Itachi said. "He is practically a member – with the exception that he doesn't attend meetings or know some of the more confidential information."

"Exactly, un. The only problem is…well, I don't think I can convince him alone," Deidara admitted. He didn't like saying this in front of Itachi – the two of them weren't exactly on the best terms – but unfortunately it was true. He wasn't yet completely comfortable asking Pein for favors when he had only recently joined the group. Not to mention Tobi joining the Akatsuki wouldn't exactly bring them any respect – the boy was such an idiot sometimes. "If it's possible, I need you to back me up. Zetsu has already made it clear to Pein that Tobi should join, un. Maybe if the two of us support that, he'd consider it."

For a second his suggestion hung in the air between them. Itachi turned around, silently facing the stairs where Tobi had suddenly disappeared. Deidara could tell that the suggestion was making him hesitate – not because it was a bad idea, but because the Uchiha already owed Pein so much. Did he truly have any right to ask the leader to do even more? He was concerned that he might be reaching his limit, overstepping his boundaries when it came to Pein's favors.

Finally, his concern for his family's wellbeing outdid any of his other concerns and he turned back to face Deidara.

"I am willing to help you convince Pein. Unfortunately my cousin seems to be a magnet for danger and without the Akatsuki to help him, he might end up doing something idiotic and hurt himself. I'll meet with you tomorrow to talk to Pein in private. I will call Zetsu tonight to inform him of this. Have a good night."

In Itachi's words, these words were equivalent to 'This conversation is over, so go away now'. He didn't waste any time making small talk, simply ended the discussion when he felt they had said all that was necessary. Deidara grimaced but stepped back.

"Yeah, see you tomorrow, un." Then he left, hearing the door close softly behind him. He walked down the steps and walk back out onto the main road, which was a few minutes away. Then he headed in the direction of his house, wallowing once again in his own thoughts. Now that Tobi was gone, now that he was alone, he had all the time he wanted to wonder whether he did the right thing.

He wasn't stupid. He had made the wrong choice. Hiding what he'd done from everybody – especially Pein – was the stupidest thing he could do right now. But every time he thought to do something different he felt that crippling fear and quickly pushed the event to the back of his mind, where it would remain until the day it was forced out again.

- 0 –

- 0 –

- 0 –

True to what he'd promised Deidara, Hidan had _attempted _to stay calm when he was with Kakuzu. Amazingly enough, the two of them hadn't fought despite being together for five minutes. After his detention, he had gone to the library and found Kakuzu who had finished all of his homework and was reading an Economics textbook…for fun.

He had swallowed any snide remarks and guessed that the miser was doing the same when it came to his detention. He had a nagging suspicion that Sasori might have talked Kakuzu into trying to get along with him, simply for the good of the team. It didn't matter to Hidan. What _did _matter was that neither of them had snapped at each other or tried to physically maim the other in the little time they were currently spending together.

The school was practically empty as most people who had afterschool activities had already left. The two of them were heading to their lockers to get their stuff for home and although they hadn't managed a proper and civil dialogue, they had progressed beyond swearing and insults. Kakuzu had asked him how his detention was and Hidan had asked him what he'd done whilst waiting. It wasn't much, but it was an improvement to their previous conversations. The others would have been proud.

Kakuzu himself hadn't been rude or mocking. The politeness was strained and forced but he _was _trying and the Jashinist could at least recognize that. Maybe, just maybe, this partnership wouldn't end in tears and bloodshed. He didn't predict them becoming 'totally best buds' in the near future, but maybe they could be on good terms.

"Sasori doesn't like being partnered with Deidara," Kakuzu said suddenly.

"I'll bet he doesn't," Hidan muttered, amused. Sasori wasn't known for being very warm towards either of the newest members. In his opinion, the Akatsuki should be more serious and solemn. For Deidara and Hidan, that translated into 'boring and stuck-up'. "Pity for Deidara – he really looks up to Sasori."

"He thinks that he's going to destroy all of his hard work in some twisted expression of art. Everyone is betting on the two of us snapping and killing each other, but no one seems to realize that Sasori and Deidara might be the first to break."

"If that's the case, Sasori's going to be the first to try to kill Deidara. He _hates _it whenever someone challenges his 'art'. Deidara gets mad, but not fucking murderous," Hidan said. "To me, it's all just a bunch of bullshit. Who cares about art? There's so many things more important than art to fight for…like religion. Jashin forbid, even _I _think that your stupid money is worth more than _art_. And I _hate _money."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"You should, because I almost never say anything good about money." He opened his locker, which never had a lock on it. It wasn't that he trusted anyone not to steal his stuff – he simply had nothing that was worth stealing. "I still think money is-"

A short pause. Kakuzu hadn't noticed, he was busy frowning at his own locker, which was three lockers down from Hidan's.

"My lock is broken," the miser said. He reached up and snatched the combination lock off. The metal had been snapped and was swinging uselessly in his hand. "Someone broke into my locker." With a snarl he reached for the door, but Hidan interrupted him:

"You _son of a bitch_. How _fucking _dare you?"

In his hand, he was holding what looked like a mangled and shredded book. Already it was battered, tattered and aged but now, someone had ripped out most of the pages violently and left the pieces inside the locker, which fluttered out like confetti. What was left of the pages were defaced and drawn upon, the words scribbled out and doodles drawn on the inside and outside of the cover. The book was a mere, destroyed skeleton of what it had once been. If it had been just _any _book, Hidan would've been angry and confused. But this book, the book he was holding right now, was his _bible_.

"I didn't do that," Kakuzu said, though he knew it was no use. Hidan's face was turning red with anger, a clear sign that he was beyond listening.

"Like hell you didn't! I bet you fucking went into my locker while I was in detention and thought you'd get a little revenge!" Hidan yelled, shaking the book in the miser's face. "I knew that you were acting too nice! You were just _waiting _for me to find out about this, you lousy dickhead!"

"Don't wave that thing in my face."

"You've always hated my religion! You've always hated me! And now we're fucking partners! What is this? Some kind of _warning _not to mess with you? Well, fuck you! You're such a fucking bastard!"

"Where's my money?"

"What? What the fuck are you talking about?" Hidan spluttered, annoyed by the interruption. Kakuzu was gripping a completely empty wallet with trembling fingers, which he had extracted from his locker. His voice had changed from being irritated to downright dangerous. "Who gives a crap about your money?"

The wallet swung around and whacked Hidan in the face, leaving a bright red mark. The shock caused his head to snap round and he stumbled. He would have recovered if a punch hadn't immediately followed, slamming into his eye and sending him almost flying back.

"Bastard!" he howled, lunging forward and delivering a right hook, which caught the miser's jaw. The strength behind it was nothing compared to Kakuzu's, but he had been caught off guard and hit the lockers. The he grabbed Hidan's wrist and used the momentum to swing him around and send him crashing into the floor. Kakuzu didn't realize that a leg had hooked around his shoulder until he was pulled forward to join Hidan on the ground.

Before Hidan could recover he felt a foot connect with his stomach and gasped for breath, lashing out with his leg. He caught Kakuzu in the very same place where he'd punched him and watched as the teen groaned, clutching his jaw.

As they fought, neither of them noticed the spectator watching around the corner, silently studying every single move. The sandy hair usually covering his eyes was currently being twisted around one finger, revealing the white scar on the left side of his face. It wasn't recognizable when covered by the long fringe, but now that the fringe had been lifted the entire scar was revealed. It was in the shape of the Jashinist symbol, carved over the left side of his face.

Alec of the Chikara did not believe in Jashin, but he had a scar of the Jashinist symbol on his face nonetheless. He also had Kakuzu's money in his pocket and the remnants of Hidan's bible on his shirt. Currently he was entertaining himself by watching the pair fight blindly and just plain hate each other.

He noticed a third party walk into the hall and decided to make himself scarce, retreating to the hall behind him and casually making his way towards the school entrance, as if he had not been the cause of this chaos.

Hidan didn't notice when Pein appeared – he was too busy getting pummeled by Kakuzu. He had been outfought and was currently being held down and repeatedly punched in the face and stomach. It didn't hurt – if Kakuzu had been using his full strength he would have been passed out by now – but it was enough to bruise his pale skin.

He only had a vague sense of when Kakuzu finally stopped, standing up and facing Pein. Blearily he managed to right himself, feeling his legs shake under him as if they were made of water. There was an uncomfortable pause as they waited, both of them breathless and hunched over. Even though they had stopped fighting, they still shot each other incensed glares.

Pein sighed, looking exasperated with the two of them. Hidan straightened, brushing dirt off of his clothes and ignoring their leader. He shot a death glower at Kakuzu, who approached with an air of serenity that was obviously forced.

"Pein, what are you doing here? I didn't realize you had an afterschool activity."

"I don't. Konan needed to stay behind to work on a project for Chemistry with her lab partner," he explained. He critically took in Hidan's ripped shirt and swelling cheek with a raised eyebrow. Then he glanced over to Kakuzu's bruised jaw and split knuckles before speaking. "You two need to stop fighting each other. It gives us a bad image, especially when you resort to physical violence. How can we be seen as a powerful threat when we can barely control our own members?"

Hidan blushed, feeling…well, not ashamed but properly chastised. Pein's voice was disapproving, but not patronizing. He spoke to them as if they were equals and not subordinates. Somehow, this made Hidan feel more like a child than if Pein had scolded him.

"Kakuzu shredded my bible."

"Hidan stole my money."

"It's like talking to four-year-olds," Pein muttered, rolling his eyes. "Couldn't the two of you just attempt to get along for the good of the gang? I know that you're at least capable of tolerating each other in public."

"I can stop fighting if _he _stops pissing me off!" Hidan snapped, pointing at Kakuzu, who grunted and crossed his arms.

"I'm afraid I can't say the same. Your very existence pisses me off."

"Fuck you, Kakuzu!" With that, the two of them were at it again. Punching and hitting and kicking until Pein sighed, realizing that he was at a dead end. He watched them for a few more seconds before deciding that it was really for the benefit of everyone if he just left them to fight it out to exhaustion.

Maybe if they were too tired to kill each other, they would be able to get along.

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Review please!


	4. Highly Poisonous and Untraceable

**Notes: **Deidara really is such an awesome character to write, and I love making him interact with Hidan as best friends. I hope I managed to keep them in character. This chapter was so difficult to write in the beginning, but the end was a lot of fun because I integrated some chat speak. Also, I'd like to say that in my story, I've written Pein as the leader who uses respect rather than fear to direct his group.

Hope you enjoy reading it and please review!

Chapter Four

Highly Poisonous and Untraceable

Frankly, Itachi was surprised that Pein had even listened to them for this long. He knew that the man was an understanding leader, but what they were asking was for him to discard some of his pride and send Akatsuki's image spiraling down into the gutter. And all for the sake of his cousin who, in all honesty, would benefit their group very little. In fact, having Tobi would probably put them at a disadvantage. He was known for being such a moron, after all.

Surprisingly enough, Pein had silently listened to them as they tried to convince him to allow Tobi to become a member of the Akatsuki. He hadn't given any indication that he was angered by their suggestion. He waited until Deidara was finished recounting his story before staring at him with a strange expression.

Itachi knew what he was feeling – he himself had felt it when Deidara had told him of yesterday's events. The story itself wasn't suspicious, but the blond's behavior while retelling it was. There was something strange about him – he was fidgeting and avoiding eye contact and his speech defect seemed to be even more frequent than usual. Pein had certainly picked up on it and Zetsu, the most observant of them all, was looking at Deidara with narrowed eyes.

"Takashi and Connor, was it?" Pein repeated, looking thoughtful. "I'll have them dealt with in the meantime." Deidara twitched, then quickly composed himself.

"There was also an incident yesterday concerning those two and Hidan, un. Kakuzu and I had to hold him back, but I'm sure that he's still pretty pissed off about it."

Pein smirked. "Duly noted. I'll send Kakuzu and Hidan to go have a 'talk' with them. I'm sure Hidan will be pleased about that – it'll give him a chance to vent his frustrations about this new partners system."

Konan was standing by his side, and she herself had said nothing throughout this whole discussion. Itachi had often thought that they were quite alike. She also seemed quite emotionless to those who did not know her, yet he had seen a gentler side to her personality and he knew she cared deeply for Pein. He even suspected a relationship between them, though they kept it hidden. Then again, it was just a suspicion.

"As for the situation with Tobi, it is something that I have thinking about in the past few days. The boy is already involved with some of our affairs and associated with our name. Most people already assume that he is a part of the Akatsuki and this has led me to consider his admission," he said truthfully. "At the time it was just a thought, but since the three of you seem quite adamant perhaps it would be better if we invited Tobi into the Akatsuki."

Itachi knew that his surprise wasn't reflected on his face, but he could see Deidara raise his eyebrows at what Pein had just said. Not simply the fact that he was agreeing to their terms, but the fact that he himself had been considering it.

"Zetsu, you will be partnered with Tobi, naturally. Make sure you inform him of our rules and stay with him at all times."

"Thank you very much for accepting, Pein. **We will keep him in line and make sure he doesn't do anything stupid**."

"Don't make me regret my decision," Pein warned. "You can inform him once you see him. I think we'll skip the initiation meeting this time. I'd rather not have to deal with the sounds of the others complaining all at once. Tell them if they have a problem with our new member they can come to me individually."

"**How intimidating. I doubt any of them will bother.**"

"What a tragedy. Now if you'll excuse me, I must speak with Itachi alone. Deidara, Zetsu, you may leave." The two of them blinked, surprised by the dismissal. The blond shot Itachi a suspicious look before turning to leave. The silence between the leader and the Uchiha remained for a long time, even after the door clicked shut.

Itachi wondered why Pein wished to talk to him. He couldn't think of any event that would have led to their leader being disappointed by his behavior, unless perhaps he referred to yesterday's events when he and Kisame confronted Orochimaru. Maybe somehow Orochimaru had gotten in contact with Pein and informed him of this? Then again, this wouldn't cause trouble unless Orochimaru had people to support him, people who could cause trouble for the Akatsuki.

When Pein looked at him, his eyes were composed yet conflicted. He looked as if he were struggling with himself as to whether he should even bring up this next subject. It was a strange sight, seeing Pein having an internal battle. The man always seemed so confident in himself, with a calm arrogance that made people listen to him without question. And at this moment, Itachi was witnessing a moment of uncertainty that he was sure few in the Akatsuki had seen. Barring Konan, who had probably seen him at his best and worst.

Finally, when Pein spoke, his voice didn't reflect his expression:

"Itachi, I am not sure if you have been informed of this, but I will tell you anyway. As you are aware, Orochimaru formed his own small band of members once leaving Chikara. They call themselves the 'Sound' and at the moment the only members we know by name are Kabuto Yakushi, Kimimaro and the Sound Four – otherwise known as Jirobo, Kidomaru, Tayuya and Sakon and Ukon, who consider themselves one being. So far I haven't considered them a threat."

He cleared his throat, leaning forward on his chair and gesturing for Itachi to sit down. He did so, not once taking his eyes off the leader of the Akatsuki.

"Orochimaru and his group left town suddenly this morning, at approximately 7:30am," Pein announced. "I received a message from Zetsu who happened to see them leave and spoke to one of their friends about it. Apparently, Orochimaru made a spontaneous decision to leave with his group in search of another place to expand. Something he can do easily, considering those in his gang are either orphans or legal adults. This is good, as it means Orochimaru has no intention so far of retaliating. That's one less threat to worry about. You wouldn't happen to have anything to do with his sudden departure, would you?" There was a gleam in his eye, more amused than angry.

"I suggested to him that it would be an appropriate course of action if he were to consider leaving. The fact that Kisame was threatening him with physical violence at the time was purely coincidental."

"Oh, I'm sure. But no matter; it worked in our favor."

Pein paused for a second, before looking up at Konan who was standing silently and had not made any indication that she was even present in the room. Even Itachi, ever observant, had almost completely forgotten that she was there. He was too busy processing the information that Pein had just told him.

If Orochimaru had left town, it meant that he would no longer have to worry about him harassing Sasuke. He felt a sudden rush of relief and if he had been anyone else, he would have allowed it to show on his face. A weight seemed to slide off of his shoulders and strangely, he felt like he could finally relax after months of worry. He was never the sort to admit that he was ever affected by anyone or anything, but there was no doubt in anyone's mind that he cared deeply for his brother's wellbeing.

"Konan, please leave. I must speak with Itachi alone," he said. She bowed her head and left without sparing Itachi a glance. "You came to me a few months ago, asking that I protect your little brother from Orochimaru's influence. In return, you would join the Akatsuki and bring multiple contacts with you. Your contribution to this group has been invaluable and I would be delighted if you remained in the Akatsuki. However, since the threat to your younger brother has removed himself from this town, Sasuke is in no immediate danger. Therefore I have decided to give you a choice."

"A choice?" He had certainly not been expecting this.

"Since Orochimaru has left, you no longer have any need of our protection. Since you are not here willingly, I'm giving you the opportunity to leave Akatsuki," Pein offered. Itachi froze, staring at him in disbelief. "We will continue to protect Sasuke if the need arises – simply because you leave does not mean we will cut off all ties with you. But you would no longer have any association with us apart from that."

His face and eyes did not seem to be deceiving, and as far as Itachi could tell there was no trickery involved in this suggestion. From what he was hearing, Pein was offering him an honest and decent chance to leave the Akatsuki if he so wished. He had no intention of keeping the Uchiha forcefully in the group, without even giving him an option. For a few seconds he was too stunned by what Pein had said to even react properly.

He had imagined that once he had joined the Akatsuki, it would be equivalent to selling the soul to the Devil. In other words, he would not be able to reverse his actions. Pein wasn't exactly the Devil; for one thing he actually cared for his subordinates. But simply because he cared for their wellbeing didn't mean that they had any right to question him or disobey his orders. They had handed him the majority of their free will on the day they had become part of the Akatsuki.

Now…to think that he even had a choice…

It almost sickened him to his core, the thought that he might have misjudged his leader to this point. He was usually so good at reading people, at pinpointing their ulterior motives. And although he did not fully trust Pein, he felt an endless amount of gratitude that he'd even taken an interest in his younger brother's plight.

He controlled any facial expressions threatening to emerge and instead bowed his head slightly to Pein.

"Thank you for even allowing me the option of leaving," he said, almost inaudibly. "But in all honesty, I have pledged my loyalty to this group. I feel that it would be in my best interest to stay in Akatsuki for as long as I am able. I choose to remain under your leadership."

Pein seemed pleased by this answer.

"Very well. You may leave now and go to your classes. School should be starting in about ten minutes anyway and I don't want anyone discovering that we've been using this place as an Akatsuki office."

He was referring to the teacher's office next to the Drama room, which was rarely used. They were in no danger of being overheard, as any students approaching the separate building would be seen outside the window, but it was still best to be vigilant and not remain longer than necessary.

Itachi thanked him and left, still feeling slightly taken aback by what had just happened. Pein had given him the choice to leave, without any semblance of a threat underlying his suggestion, and Itachi had _refused_. He had joined the Akatsuki, feeling…perhaps not _loathing, _but a deep dislike for Pein's goals and the purpose behind the whole group. He had suspected that in the long run, he would regret his decision but at the time, Sasuke's welfare had been the most important thing to consider. Now though, he wondered what was keeping him attached to Akatsuki. Somewhere along the line, he had lost his repulsion of this group and was now an active and willing member. How unexpected…

Once outside, he caught sight of an ecstatic Tobi bouncing around Zetsu, happily chirping away as if his birthday had arrived early. Itachi often wondered how such a fool could truly be a part of the Uchiha family. His parents insisted that Tobi was in fact, mentally disabled. But Itachi had assumed along the line that it was easier to blame his idiocy on a mental problem than to acknowledge that there was such thing as a stupid Uchiha.

Itachi himself did not like or dislike Tobi – although he would admit to being annoyed by him at his worst moments. Nevertheless, Tobi was part of his family and he had an innate responsibility towards him, as burdensome as that may be.

"I'm in the Akatsuki! I'm in the Akatsuki! I'm in the Akatsuki! Tobi is a good boy!"

"**Stop being so loud.** We'd rather not advertise this event. We still have our pride, you know." Zetsu spoke as if he were annoyed, but his face was passive. There was no doubt that he was pleased by this turn of events. Tobi was one of the few people who didn't find him '_creepy_'. Not to mention now he had an official partner.

"Zetsu-san is my partner, so now we have to be together all the time! In school, during breaks, during classes, afterschool-"

"**Stop depressing me. I'm **_**this **_**close to committing suicide.**"

"Aww, Zetsu-san is _mean_!" Tobi complained. "But it doesn't matter, because I'm in the Akatsuki!" He continued to dance, oblivious to his surroundings.

"There's no way I can take him on spying missions with me," Zetsu said to Itachi, who was clearly avoiding looking at his cousin. "**The moron would expose us within seconds.**"

-0-

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Kisame found his redheaded friend in what was clearly his favorite room in the school. Sasori was so intensely focused on the test tube he was studying that he didn't notice his friend's entrance. Or so Kisame thought.

He approached him silently, watching as Sasori carefully shook the test tube and made a soft noise of approval as the color changed ever so slightly. He seemed pleased and placed the test tube into a test tube rack. Before picking up another one, he spoke:

"I hope you have a good reason for disturbing me, Kisame. You know I don't like my work being interrupted." Kisame jumped, startled. Then he sighed and cleared his throat, wondering why everything Sasori said sounded like some sort of threat.

"Yeah, what are you doing?" Science had never been his strong point. He preferred sports to academics, especially swimming.

"Pein asked me to develop a specific type of poison for a client who is paying him _a lot _of money. The client, who has chosen to remain anonymous, is running a business that isn't doing so well in the face of a new competitor. And that's where I come in," he muttered, picking up a beaker filled with clear fluid. He narrowed his eyes, looking displeased. "I'm developing a poison that's highly toxic and untraceable. The effects of the poison are slow moving and mimic that of several other slow-acting diseases. The most important thing is that it's untraceable, which means that there will be no evidence of foul play when our client decides to eliminate his competitor."

"That's pretty intense. Makes me glad that it's usually you guys dealing with these sort of people," the other boy admitted. By 'you guys', he was referring to Pein, Konan, Kakuzu and Sasori. The three of them were the only ones who arranged meetings with clients, organized the finances and overall dealt with the darker, organization part of the Akatsuki. The rest of them simply went on missions and answered to Pein's demands. It wasn't that they weren't trusted; it was simply that they either weren't ideal for dealing with people due to appearance – such as Zetsu, Kisame – or they were too new – like Hidan, Deidara, Itachi and now Tobi.

"I shudder to think of what would happen if Hidan were the one to deal with our clients," Sasori murmured, and was met with a short bark of laughter. "Aside from that, what are you doing here? Don't you have a class now?"

"Nope. Free period just like you. You don't know that because you seem to spend every free period in this lab."

"Doing work. Your free period doesn't explain why you are here."

"I came over to tell you about the news," Kisame said. Sasori raised an eyebrow, looking slightly surprised.

"What news?"

"According to Deidara and Tobi, there was an incident afterschool involving Takashi and Connor. They were cornered and attacked-"

"Are they alright?"

"Yeah, they're fine. But the point is that Deidara, Itachi and Zetsu decided to talk to Pein about letting Tobi become part of our group."

His friend stopped concentrating on his work and turned his head, frowning. "Surely not…"

"Yeah. Tobi's an Akatsuki now," Kisame chuckled. "Which means we're obliged to accept him as a member and protect him. Pein said that if we have any problems, we go directly to him. In other words, no official initiation."

"And he's fully aware that none of us will bother going to complain personally about this. How devious of him." He sighed, placing a cork in all of the test tubes on the rack and reaching for the other equipment. He began to wash them, frowning. When he spoke, it seemed to be more directed towards himself rather than Kisame. "I wonder if we can maintain our reputation with a moron like Tobi in our ranks. I know for a fact that he tells Deidara everything Zetsu tells him, so what would stop him from spilling our secrets to the enemy? Perhaps a mild threat would keep his mouth shut…"

"He tells Deidara all that confidential shit? Why does Zetsu even talk to him about it then? He should know better."

"Zetsu is perfectly aware that Deidara is being told everything, but it does not matter since Pein is in fact encouraging him to do so. He's quite curious about how the two of them would react to being kept in the dark. A small…experiment, you could call it. To test their loyalty."

Kisame said nothing as Sasori began to place the equipment back onto their shelves. He was meticulous, efficient and careful. Just as he always had been, and just as he always would be. Everything had to be perfectly organized on their labeled shelves and if anything were out of place, he would have to correct that mistake.

Sasori had always been organized, but this obsessive need to have everything in the right place stemmed from the fact that he spent most of his time working on developing various poisons and drugs for Akatsuki and its clients. In this line of work, accidentally mixing up a mild hallucinogenic with a fatal poison wasn't something he could chance.

Once he had organized the school equipment, he opened his bag and produced a wooden box. Upon opening the box, Kisame saw that it had rows of filled test tubes, each with their own special labels and different substances swirling around inside the glass. Sasori filled an empty slot with the one that he had just finished making and then placed some more chemicals in the other slots. Kisame imagined that some of the chemicals Sasori used weren't things he could find in the school lab – so he brought his own.

"How are things with you and Deidara? You think you guys are going to get along for this partner thing?"

"Unlike you and Itachi, some of us didn't get paired with our ideal partners. It has only been a day and already I'm feeling impatient with that brat. He's constantly late, he speaks too loud and too often and he is disruptive in class. It takes all of my willpower not to reach over and strangle him just so I can have a moment of peace. And I felt all of this _before _we were forced together," Sasori said, looking irritated.

"Aw, he can't be that bad." Then again, Itachi had never gotten along well with Deidara either, and he and Sasori were very alike in their personalities. Minus the obsession with poisonous substances and the ridiculously violent impatience. "You should give him a chance, try to get to know him. You might be surprised by how easily you become friends."

"I refuse to spend anymore time with him than necessary. His immaturity is insufferable and to me he is nothing more than a cocky brat who doesn't belong in Akatsuki."

Kisame looked up just in time to see Deidara stop at the door, looking undoubtedly pissed off at what he had just heard. The blond was clenching his fists and glaring at Sasori, who hadn't noticed his presence. After a second of silence, he whirled around and stormed off. His footsteps alerted Sasori that he'd been there and he turned, eyebrow raised.

Kisame cleared his throat and his friend sighed, rubbing his temples:

"How much of that do you think he heard?"

"Enough."

"Just perfect. Now he's going to be even more unbearable than before." Kisame didn't comment on Sasori's callousness and simply shrugged before leaving, confident that his friend would eventually see the light and realize his true feelings. After all, Deidara was already aware of them and he was nowhere near as smart as Sasori.

-0-

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IT class was the only place where Hidan and Deidara couldn't talk to each other out loud without being interrupted by their teachers. In all their other classes they sat next to each other but their IT teacher had organized them alphabetically around the room, which meant that they were too far away from each other to talk without shouting.

Instead, Deidara logged onto his MSN and gestured to Hidan to do the same. Soon enough, he saw Hidan's username pop up, indicating that he was online. Immediately he clicked on it and began to chat privately to his best friend, glancing around to make sure that no one was watching:

**JashinIsGod: **Dickface is driving me crazy. I wanna fucking kill him. I wanna slice him to little bits and set fire to those pieces and then…do something even worse!

**ArtIsABANG!: **It's been like a day. What did he do this time, un?

**JashinIsGod: **Did you seriously just type 'un'? How pathetic…

**ArtIsABANG!: **Oh stfu and don't even get me started on your constant swearing. Just tell me what Kakuzu did.

**JashinIsGod: **He criticizes everything I do, threatens to kill me every few minutes and punched me in the face this morning when I took a dollar from his wallet. A freaking dollar! I can barely see out of my eye now and it hurts like shit! He's so damn annoying with his money and his temper. It's all he ever thinks about and talks about. That is, when he even talks at all. He thinks he's so tough with his silent, evil glares and his big muscles and freakish height and his sexy eyes.

**ArtIsABANG!: **Ah, so pretty much the usual…wait…sexy eyes?

**JashinIsGod: **Eh? Wtf?

**ArtIsABANG!: **Whoa. Hidan…do you have feelings for Kakuzu?

**JashinIsGod: **Fuck, no! That was a typo. Seriously.

**ArtIsABANG!: **Holy crap. It's so obvious, Hidan. You always complain about him the most and practically every other sentence out of your month is about something he's said or done. You like him. You've always liked him!

**JashinIsGod: **Shut the hell up, blondie! I'm not above pulling your stupid hair off! I swear that if you say that one more time you'll be fucking bald by the end of this class.

**ArtIsABANG!: **You can deny it all you want - I know the truth. But don't worry; I won't tell anyone your little secret.

**JashinIsGod: **Oh fuck off. I already get enough grief from that asshole, I don't need you pissing me off as well.

**ArtIsABANG!: **You're not the only one having problems with your partner. During free period I walked in on Sasori calling me a "cocky brat who doesn't belong in the Akatsuki", un.

**JashinIsGod: **Douche. Want me to beat the crap out of him for you? I could use a human sacrifice for my ritual, since my Dad found those animal carcasses in the house and forbade me from any more animal killings. Oh wait, never mind. I know you'd never let me hurt your precious _Danna_.

**ArtIsABANG!: **Damn right I wouldn't. Sasori's too sexy for me to let you mess up his face.

**JashinIsGod: **That's just fucking sad, man.

**ArtIsABANG!: **Not as sad as your crush on Kakuzu. I mean, come on! The guy is a violent, miserly sadist and you want to tap that. Then again, it makes sense considering you're a masochist…

**JashinIsGod: **Huh…I never really considered that. I wonder if that sadism applies to the bedroom as well.

**ArtIsABANG!: **Ew. Gross. Sick. Disgusting. Never mention that again, un. Keep your fantasies to yourself – I don't want to hear or read about them. _Especially _when they're about Kakuzu, who is the most asexual guy I've ever met.

**JashinIsGod: **Are you fucking kidding me? Kakuzu's way less asexual than Sasori. That bastard could be a goddamn puppet for all the emotion he shows. I bet he doesn't even have a penis. Or if he does, it stopped working a long time ago. Probably went rotten and fell off from lack of circulation. Hahahahahaha.

**ArtIsABANG!: **Stop insulting Sasori. He's ten times the man you'll ever be. And a hundred times the artist.

**JashinIsGod: **Who gives a crap about art? Oh, wait a second…

**ArtIsABANG!: **What?

**JashinIsGod: **Pein's online. He says it's his free period.

**ArtIsABANG!: **You're chatting to him? What does he want?

**JashinIsGod: **He wants to talk. Wait, I'll invite him.

_**PeinInTheAss has been invited into the conversation. **_

**PeinInTheAss: **Oh, very nice, Hidan. How original. Like I've never heard this one before. Ha ha ha. You are so clever.

**ArtIsABANG!: **Lol, good one dude. Way to get yourself in our leader's good books.

**JashinIsGod: **Totally freaking worth it.

**PeinInTheAss: **Watch your step, Hidan. I'm not above assassinating my own subordinates. And how did you even get my password?

**JashinIsGod: **Like I'd ever tell you that. It's a secret I'll keep until the day I die and Jashin takes my soul into his paradise.

**ArtIsABANG!: **Pein? Where'd he go?

**JashinIsGod: **No idea. I think he left…

**PeinIsGod: **Excuse me, I was changing my username. And my password.

**JashinIsGod: **Hey! Change that fucking username! Change it back!

**PeinIsGod: **No, I will not. And I'm glad to see that the two of you have finally decided to use correct spelling and grammar online. Quite a refreshing change from your previous atrocious 'chat speak'. Akatsuki members should use proper grammar at all times.

**ArtIsABANG!: **Srsly? U thnk we shud type gud cuz we iz Akatsuki now? Lolz, k, sure.

**JashinIsGod: **Yea, y r u even online? Is ther a prob? Or r u just here 2 piss us off? Cuz if so, u can just fck off.

**PeinIsGod: **I have a mission for you, Hidan. Now that Tobi is one of us, we need to send out the message that everyone needs to steer clear of him starting today. Which is why I need you and Kakuzu to give Takashi, Connor and possibly Teru a little warning. Make sure you wait until you're off school grounds and there are no witnesses. And please try to control yourself – we don't want them going to the hospital. I've already told Kakuzu about this.

**ArtIsABANG!: **Um…where did he go?

**PeinIsGod: **Deidara, he's still in class right?

**ArtIsABANG!: **Yeah he's on the other side of class, un.

**JashinIsTheREALGod: **I'm back. Changed my username.

**PeinIsGod: **How typical and immature. Did you get my message?

**JashinIsTheREALGod: **Yeah, yeah I got it. Do I seriously have to do this with Kakuzu? I can beat them up no problem by myself.

**PeinIsGod: **I don't trust you to not kill them by accident. Or deliberately. Kakuzu has some self-control at least, and he can stop you if things get out of hand.

**JashinIsTheREALGod: **Yeah, whatever. And anyway, Takashi and Connor haven't been in school today for some reason. Guess it'll have to wait until later.

**PeinIsGod: **Just get it done as soon as possible.

**KakuzuIsATurd: **Lol, Hidan, check out my username.

**JashinIsTheREALGod: **Hahahaha! He'd freak if he saw that. Wait, lemme change mine.

**PeinIsGod: **...

**SasoriHasAVagina: **Check it out. Not bad, eh?

**PeinIsGod: **Why did I ever recruit you two idiots?

**KakuzuEatsPoo: **Because we're so awesome, un.

**IAmSasori'sTesticle: **Hey, Deidara, look at this one.

**KakuzuEatsPoo: **LOL!

**IAmSasori'sTesticle: **Not joining in, Pein? Btw, your username looks like PenisGod.

**KakuzuEatsPoo: **HAHAHAHAHA!

_**PeinIsGod has left the conversation.**_

**IAmKakuzu'sBoob: **Aww, he left. And I just changed mine.

**IAmSasori'sTesticle: **Meh, he never had much of a sense of humor anyway. Just like our bastard partners. You know, Kakuzu's username is just…'Kakuzu'. Not even 'ILOVEMONEY' or something. Just 'Kakuzu'.

**IAmKakuzu'sBoob: **Yeah I saw. Sasori's the same, un. Why do we like these guys?

**IAmSasori'sTesticle: **Damn it, Deidara, I don't fucking like Kakuzu!

_**Kakuzu has signed in.**_

_**Sasori has signed in. **_

**IAmKakuzu'sBoob: **Um…do Kakuzu and Sasori have a class together right now?

**IAmSasori'sTesticle: **No, I think they have a free period.

**IAmKakuzu'sBoob: **With Pein?

**IAmSasori'sTesticle: **That traitorous asshole! He must have told them to go online! SHIT!

At that exact moment, Deidara saw on the screen that Kakuzu was trying to talk to him. He heard a muttered curse from the other side of class and knew that Sasori was talking to his friend as well.

He considered simply ignoring Kakuzu but thought better of it. Hidan could take anything Kakuzu would dish out, but the blond had never been stupid enough to be on the receiving end of the miser's temper. He wasn't a goddamn masochist like his best friend and preferred avoiding pain at all costs.

Sighing, he clicked on the new conversation:

**Kakuzu: **Sasori told me to tell you to meet at the school gate once class ends. He said you'd better be there within two minutes or he'll be pissed.

**IAmKakuzu'sBoob: **Oh, right. I'll be there.

**Kakuzu: **And I told Sasori to tell you that I'm going to break off both your arms and make you eat them.

**IAmKakuzu'sBoob: **Ah, Kakuzu, why so violent? We were just joking around, un.

**Kakuzu: **Yeah, I know. And when I rip your balls off, I'll just be joking around too.

Deidara noticed that Hidan had sent him something. He turned to see Hidan gesturing at him wildly to read it, face red from anger and probably fear.

**IAmSasori'sTesticle: **Your boyfriend is a complete fucking dickhead. He says he's going to drug my drink and cut offmytesticles. Then he's going to tattoo butterflies and flowers all over me while I'm sleeping. And then he said something that I refuse to repeat but I fucking swear to Jashin if it happens I'll commit suicide.

**IAmKakuzu'sBoob: **Yeah, well your lover wants to break my arms off and make me eat them, and then rip my balls off. That tops butterfly and flower tattoos any day.

**IAmSasori'sTesticle: **For fuck's sake he is NOT my lover! Would you shut up about that? If you say that again I'm going to tell Sasori that you've dreamed of being his bitch for the past year! So shut the hell up!

The blond grimaced and went back to his conversation with Kakuzu.

**IAmKakuzu'sBoob: **Oi, Kakuzu.

**Kakuzu: **What?

**IAmKakuzu'sBoob: **Hidan made me change my username. And now he's calling you a dickless bastard who eats shit and screws his money, un.

_**Kakuzu has signed out. **_

"Awesome, un," Deidara said, smirking widely. He turned and gave Hidan a thumbs up, and his friend looked thoroughly relieved.

A few minutes later the bell rang, signifying the end of class. Deidara grabbed his bag and left the room, waving goodbye to Hidan. Hidan rolled his eyes as he ran out, obviously realizing that he didn't want to keep Sasori waiting. If there was anything that would make him lose his temper, it would be making him wait. Or being late. Sasori hated being late.

Deidara stopped by his locker and shoved his books inside, running into Tobi and Zetsu on the way. The Uchiha was still semi-high from joining Akatsuki and he waved goodbye to his friend so enthusiastically Zetsu was forced to shush him.

He stepped off the front steps of the school about a minute early, looking out for Sasori at the gate. The redhead was waiting and looking out to the road. Deidara knew that the moment the two minutes was up Sasori would start looking at his watch every few seconds and sighing impatiently.

He passed the parking lot and was almost at the gate when someone shot out from between two parked cars and tackled him, slamming him into a silver BMW.

"What the fuck?" he gasped. He was about to move when he felt something cold and sharp against his neck. He ignored the instinct to struggle out of his attacker's sharp grasp and froze, breathing heavily. He narrowed his eyes as he recognized the person who had hit him.

"You bastard. You _bastard_," Connor snarled, pressing the knife into his skin. The boy's eyes were bloodshot and red-rimmed, and he was pale with messy hair and his jaw was so swollen that his speech was impaired. He looked crazed, psychotic and Deidara could feel a droplet of sweat dribble down his neck. Or was it blood? "You blasted his hands off beyond repair. He'll have to get them amputated and now he can't even fucking _eat _or _write _or hold a fucking book! You ruined his life you goddamn _bastard!_" He pulled the blond forward and slammed him back into the car.

"He shouldn't…have…fucked with Akatsuki…" Deidara wheezed, trying to sound tough but inside his heart was thundering. He could hear the blood pounding in his ears and wondered vaguely if a person could pass out from fear. He wasn't dealing with a student, or a rival from another gang. He was dealing with a psycho – a _madman_.

"_Don't give me that bullshit!_" Connor howled. Behind him, Sasori had looked up at the sound of Connor's voice and noticed their encounter. He frowned and began running towards them, but he was too far away to stop the boy if he decided to slit Deidara's throat. "You don't know how much I want to kill you myself right now."

The words made Deidara's blood run cold and he couldn't help it – he tried to struggle out of Connor's grasp despite the knife at his neck. The teen, fueled by rage, had too tight a grip and he couldn't even budge an inch.

"But I won't. You fucked with one of our members and now we've got our eye on you. And when you're alone, we'll come after you and what we dish out will be worse than death. So you'd better fucking watch out," he threatened, moving the knife lower until he cut a small, shallow line into Deidara's pale skin. "You're gonna be sorry for what you did to Takashi. Believe me, you're gonna _pay_."

And with that, he let go of him and ran off, disappearing within a few minutes and leaving Deidara in a complete and utter mess. He stood on shaky legs for a few seconds before reaching out a hand and steadying himself on the car, which now had a dent in the door. He didn't want to lose it in front of Sasori, who was now only a few meters away. He took a few deep breaths to steady himself.

When Sasori reached him, Deidara wasn't sure but he almost seemed concerned. He attributed it to his current fright and watched as the redhead smoothed out his expression before speaking:

"What did he want with you? Did he hurt you?" he demanded, frowning as Deidara straightened silently, still trembling.

"No, I'm fine," he forced. His voice was raspy, and he inwardly winced, knowing that his friend would catch on it. "He was just being a dick, un. You know, mocking us and saying shit. No big deal."

There was a tense pause and he watched Sasori's eyes narrowing. There was no way he'd bought it. No chance in Hell.

"Your neck is bleeding."

"Huh?" He had forgotten about that. When he reached up and brushed the cut, the sight of the blood on his fingers almost made him panic again. He felt that mix of guilt and fear bubbling up inside of him and for one horrible second he wasn't sure if he could stop himself from breaking down.

Then he caught sight of the apprehension on his partner's face and stopped, knowing that if he freaked out it would be seen as feeble. The last thing he wanted Sasori to think was that he was a weak and useless coward.

"It's nothing," he muttered, brushing away the blood and pushing past the redhead.

"If this concerns Akatsuki-"

"It doesn't. Like I said, it's nothing," he snapped. Sasori raised an eyebrow but said nothing, choosing instead to follow silently. Neither of them mentioned the incident again.

At night, when Deidara lay on his bed and stared at the ceiling, he contemplated the numerous ways that the Chikara would get payback for what he had done. And, not for the first time, he really wished he'd used some common sense and stopped himself from going too far.


	5. A Couple of Bad Decisions

Chapter Five

A Couple of Bad Decisions

"This is bullshit."

It took a moment for him to register that Hidan had broken the silence. Inwardly he groaned, preparing himself for another half hour rant on why they shouldn't even be here. The moment they had stepped off school grounds the Jashinist had begun to complain about how he wanted to go home and hated doing stupid assignments.

Of course, the idiot had no concept of the importance of money, so he didn't see what a good opportunity this was. Kakuzu had to thank Sasori later on for joining the Akatsuki. Thanks to his drugs and poisons they had managed to strike up business with some very rich and generous, albeit shifty, clients. A lot of their money came from various drug dealers who came from everywhere in order to buy some of the redhead's unique drugs. And Kakuzu always charged a very high price for these products, which most were willing to pay.

Currently, they were heading towards a discreet meeting place to speak to a new client, who was interested in getting a hold of some new products. Kakuzu had in his briefcase an incredibly strong poison that had been recently developed for the client that was fatal in small doses. He thanked God for stripping him of morals; they would only hold him back. Once he handed the case over, he really couldn't care less what the man did with the substance. The dealer could give them to toddlers, for all he cared.

Well, maybe that was pushing it a little bit.

"Be quiet, Hidan. You've already made your opinion very clear and I don't want to hear it again," he snapped.

"But I'm _tired_ and dizzy," Hidan whined. "I want to go home and fucking sleep." He reached up and scratched his cheek, eyes drooping tiredly. Kakuzu caught sight of all the scars and cuts on his arms that he assumed were from those insane rituals he did for his god, Jashin. He frowned, noting that the cuts were like a ladder traveling all the way up his arm. Most seemed fresh, but there were some that were merely white lines.

"No wonder you're tired, you moron. You did a ritual this morning and the blood loss is making you dizzy. Why does your Dad even let you do this?"

Hidan shrugged, looking away. "He used to get mad about it. But he hasn't been home in a while so it doesn't matter." This piqued Kakuzu's curiosity, especially since the albino seemed uncomfortable with the subject.

"What do you mean by that? Did he go on a vacation?"

"Like hell. Pretty much the day after Tobi joined Akatsuki, I just came back from school and he just wasn't there. All his shit was gone and there was some note saying that he'd left and wasn't coming back. There was some money as well – enough for a few weeks of food and stuff," Hidan explained. He was fiddling shakily with his rosary and even though he had a bored expression, Kakuzu heard his voice crack slightly.

"He just…left? Why haven't you told anyone this?" Kakuzu was confused by this sudden occurrence. Hidan hadn't said anything or even acted strangely the past few days. No one had noticed any change in his behavior, and if Deidara had known about it he hadn't mentioned it either.

"It's not a big fucking deal. So he upped and took off. The asshole was barely ever at home anyway, and even when he was we didn't get along. He hated my rituals and my religion, and he always said I was a freak. So it's just good riddance."

Hidan refused to speak anymore about the subject and Kakuzu wasn't willing to continue prying. They continued to walk without speaking until the albino stopped at a house and looked over it with a critical eye. The pause caused his friend to stop and glance at him questioningly but Hidan said nothing and simply walked casually to the wall of the house.

"What are you doing?"

"I need to _go_," was the only explanation he got. And that was all he needed when Hidan turned his back to the miser and a second later there was the unmistakable sound of his jeans being unzipped. Kakuzu cringed in disgust and turned away, mumbling that he could have at least been warned.

"You couldn't have gone to the bathroom before we left?" Glancing up, he took note of the familiarity of the house and the white door against the dark brown bricks. He knew this house that Hidan was currently vandalizing. "Hey, isn't this Teru's house?"

Hidan finished his business and shrugged.

"Yeah, it is. What's your point?"

"I…nothing. Never mind," Kakuzu sighed, not wanting to get into another discussion. Although it was gross, he felt a twinge of amusement. It wasn't as if there was any love lost between himself and that bastard of a Chikara member.

The Chikara hadn't caused too much trouble the past few days. Once Tobi had joined the Akatsuki, both Kakuzu and Hidan were given the job of sending out the message. They had targeted the main bullies and a few other Chikara members (not to mention a few other students who enjoyed teasing the masked boy) to make sure that there would be no further problems. And so far, it had worked.

Nobody had dared approach Tobi, who had gotten a new mask immediately after the incident, though it didn't spare the other members the grief of the small pranks played by their rival gang. Within the past few days, Itachi and Deidara had had their lockers trashed and defaced and the others had been deliberately tripped up or shoved into walls at least three times each. The only members left alone were Pein and Konan. No one in school dared to face the Akatsuki leader and it was common knowledge that Konan could not only take care of herself, but that anyone who dared bother her would be discovered mutilated and mangled in a dumpster somewhere the next day. Their school life was relatively calm and easygoing compared to some of the others.

The more immature members especially targeted Hidan and Deidara due to the fact that they reacted so violently and were so short-tempered. Not to mention they weren't as intimidating as Kisame and Kakuzu, or as emotionless as Sasori and Itachi.

When they finally reached the meeting place, Hidan began to complain once again about the crappy upkeep of the place Kakuzu had chosen. He had specifically picked out an abandoned factory bordering the outskirts of the town. The place had once been a meat factory and at some point it had been in the process of being reconstructed. The side of the factory had been knocked down and there was a half-built metal structure meant to expand the building. For some reason the project had been abandoned and now there was nothing but construction materials and concrete and metal strewn everywhere. The place stank of rotting meat and the walls were covered in dust and mold with various insects skittering about.

Hidan was disgusted and made a point of telling Kakuzu when they arrived ten minutes early. The miser sat down on a stack of wooden planks and mentioned nothing about the state of the ruined building.

"Why the hell can't you ever pick a _normal_, nice-smelling place to meet clients? It's always some rotting shit hole or a smelly bathroom or whatever and I have to stand here for absolute ages breathing in the stench. What's wrong with a hotel room or a nice restaurant?" Hidan complained, kicking at a cockroach that tried to skitter over his feet.

"I'd rather have no witnesses or written records to prove that these exchanges took place, you idiot. Though I wouldn't expect you to think things through properly."

"_Hah!_ At least I'm not the one making deals with shady clients and selling drugs or poison. I was all set to go home and crash on the sofa, but _you_ had to drag me on this stupid mission and now I'm stuck in this damn building that smells like a pig's ass."

Kakuzu sighed, wishing their client would hurry up so he didn't have to spend any more time than necessary with Hidan.

"Just shut up when he gets here and let me do all the talking. That way it'll be over quicker and you can go home," he snarled, willing himself not to strangle the Jashinist.

Of course, Hidan seemed ready to ignore his command and continue to whine when a figure stepped out of the shadow, clearing his throat and surveying the two with an apprehensive eye. He was a lean, average looking man with an air of nervousness that immediately told Kakuzu he was someone easily manipulated and new at this. There was no confidence in the way he walked and it was obvious that he was simply a reluctant messenger or lackey. When Kakuzu stood up, the man's nervous twitching seemed to amplify and he looked thoroughly intimidated.

Hidan snorted when he saw him and flopped onto the place Kakuzu had vacated. The miser's gaze was currently locked onto the man's hand, which was in his jacket and probably wrapped around the money he owed them. After a short pause the stranger was the first to speak:

"What is-"

"Tiger Lily. Do you have the money?" Kakuzu interrupted. The 'secret question' had been a necessary security, but he was tired and didn't want to be here any longer.

"Yeah…do you have the…stuff?"

Hidan raised an eyebrow and stood up, moving next to Kakuzu.

"Yes, in here," he gestured to the briefcase he was holding. The man's eyes flickered towards it for less than a second, then his gaze returned to Kakuzu. He seemed unsure of what to do next.

"Oi, Kakuzu. Something's wrong with this guy," Hidan mumbled, so only his friend could hear. He was glowering at the guy suspiciously.

"You sense it too?"

"Yeah. This isn't good. We should get the fuck out of here."

"I'll be quick."

The man spoke. "I want to see them." Hidan made a noise of impatience as Kakuzu placed the briefcase onto a dusty table and opened it to reveal seven vials of clear liquid. The man stared at them, his hand still in his jacket, and seemed at a loss for words. "How do I know that's the real thing? How do I know that's not just water you're giving me?"

Kakuzu narrowed his eyes. "Why don't you drink some and see if it works?" he snarled. Clearly he was getting impatient with the guy, who quickly backed off.

"_Kakuzu, _let's _go_," Hidan hissed.

"Not without my money," he said, pushing the case to the other side of the table and closer to the man.

"Um, yeah…that's the thing…" He produced a gun from beneath his jacket, pointing it to Kakuzu with a trembling hand. Kakuzu instinctively took a step back and raised his hands, feeling a trickle of fear down his spine. "I don't really _have _the money."

"Oh _fuck_…" he heard Hidan mutter. But the albino wasn't even looking at the person pointing the gun. He was staring at the six other men who had stepped out of the shadows during their conversations. He couldn't recognize any of their faces, but they were all wearing the signature blue band of the Chikara. They seemed to only be members of the outer circle, but they were still bad news.

Desperately he tried to run through the situation in his head, wondering what he'd done wrong and what could have been done to avoid this. They had walked right into a trap and were hideously outnumbered. He wasn't even sure if they were going to make it out of this alive.

The worst thing about this was that if they did escape this situation, Kakuzu would have to hear the Jashinist utter the words 'I told you so'. And he would never be allowed to forget it.

The man they had originally met with approached just enough to snatch the briefcase away and jump back, eyes still fearful and alert. He retreated behind the others, before turning and running away. Kakuzu made a mental note to track him down and kill him if he ever got the chance.

"What do you want from us?" he demanded, directing his words to the man closest.

"Our main goal was to…_liberate_ the product from your hands. Our leader had no intention of paying you, if you must know," he sneered. "And now that we have what we want, we thought we'd rough you up a little. Have some fun, you know?" He produced a switchblade from his pocket and pointed it mockingly at Kakuzu. The sharp, shiny blade flicked up with a soft metallic _click_. "Whaddya think?"

"I'd like to see you fucking _try_," Hidan drawled, but there was a waver in his voice. They were clearly outnumbered and the odds weren't looking good.

"Big words for-"

He was interrupted as Kakuzu tackled him into the ground. The only way they had a chance of winning this was to catch them by surprise. And the man looked thoroughly surprised until his head smacked the ground and he was rendered unconscious.

A commotion broke out behind him and he heard Hidan yell in shock. The miser whirled around and socked a guy in the face, hearing a satisfying _crunch_ and scream. He hooked his leg around the other's ankle and tripped him up. The man snagged onto his collar, pulling him forward roughly so they both tumbled on the ground.

The next few moments were a blur of pain and red and noise as he felt a fist connect with his face multiple times. He thought he had passed out when a haze of black invaded his vision but then he reached forward and wrapped a hand around his attacker's neck and squeezed harshly. He could hear the man spluttering beneath him and slammed his head back into the concrete, hearing a solid _crack_. When his vision cleared, the man was passed out but not fatally harmed.

He staggered upwards, slowly coming to the realization that none of the other attackers were aiming for him. Which could only mean that Hidan was left fighting four armed men by himself.

The Jashinist seemed to be holding out pretty well considering the situation. He had knocked out one of the men and was using his switchblade, swinging wildly so no one dared approach him. The other three were attempting to find a moment of hesitance where they could jump in without being mutilated.

Kakuzu hooked his arm around a blond-haired giant, pulling him into a headlock. The man emitted a surprised yell, distracting Hidan who whirled around: "Kakuzu! What-"

There was a sick, wet _thud_ and a strangled gasp and Kakuzu watched, horrified as the albino crumpled to the ground, hand to his face. His assailant stood over him, bloody brick grasped tightly in his hand and staring down with a look of fury.

"_Aaah, fuck_, that hurt," Hidan whimpered, blood trickling through his fingers.

Kakuzu let go of his victim and kicked him so hard he went tumbling over the Jashinist and slammed into his friends, sending them all tumbling into a stack of pipes that gave way under their weight and clattered around them. The miser grabbed Hidan and hauled him up, dragging him away as fast as he could. The other boy staggered but followed without complaint.

They put as much distance between themselves and their assailants, looking back to make sure they weren't being followed. It seemed the Chikara members had remained behind, so they weren't in any immediate danger.

Finally, Hidan's legs collapsed under him and he slumped against the wall of a house, panting and still gripping his face. He was mumbling deliriously and trembling.

"Show me your face," Kakuzu demanded, kneeling down and attempting to pry Hidan's arms apart so he could see the damage. His friend resisted, shaking his head. "Stop resisting and show me. You might need to go to the hospital."

Reluctantly, the hands dropped.

"How bad is it? It feels bad…is it bad?"

Kakuzu simply stared at the bloody mess that was Hidan's face. The left side of his face had been left relatively unharmed save for slight bruising around his eye. But the right side of his face was smeared with blood and disfigured. The skin of his cheek had almost been completely ripped off by the brick and there was a massive gash on his forehead revealing white bone underneath. The sight of it made Kakuzu's stomach lurch but he didn't say anything, not wanting to make Hidan panic. What made it worse was that his cheek was swelling up and probably turning purple underneath all that blood.

"You'll need stitches for sure," he mumbled.

"Everything's fucking moving…I feel dizzy."

"Get up; I need to get you to the hospital to clean you up. We'll get a taxi this time."

"Eh? Not the bus?" Kakuzu wasn't known to take taxis anywhere when there was cheaper transport available.

"I don't want you freaking anyone out with…the blood," he muttered. He didn't want to say '_your face_' because that would have earned him a punch and probably a panic attack.

He helped Hidan stand up, slinging an arm around his shoulders to support him and they began to struggle agonizingly slowly down the street, keeping an eye out for a stray taxi. He could feel the albino slowly tiring and began to speak in order to keep him awake.

"Their group is expanding now, faster than we predicted. It seems their leader has been recruiting anyone who's willing to join."

"Strength in…numbers…huh?"

"We need to tell Pein about this. He'll be furious that we lost the poisons."

"Who gives a…flying fuck about the…poison? What even happened to…that traitorous bastard?"

Kakuzu shot him a worried look. Hidan had been present when the man had run off. But there was no sign of remembrance on his face.

"The client ran off."

"When I find that guy…I'm gonna cut his…dick off," Hidan mumbled, blood dribbling down his chin as he spoke. Kakuzu silently agreed.

-0-

-0-

-0-

"Get me an orange juice from the staff room, Deidara. I can't leave my work right now," Sasori commanded. The blond rolled his eyes but slid out of his seat, glancing up at the clock. School had ended more than an hour ago and he was still stuck here with his partner who was working on some chemistry project. He'd told Tobi to go with Itachi and Kisame when their afterschool activities had ended because the masked teen was obviously bored.

"Yeah, fine." He paused at the doorway. "Has Kakuzu called you yet, un? I haven't heard from Hidan and neither of them have been at school all day." Sasori didn't look up from his notes.

"I spoke to Pein. He said that the two of them are fine and will be attending school tomorrow. He refused to tell me why they weren't here today but you can use my cell phone to call them afterwards," he said. Deidara blinked, surprised by this gracious offer.

"Uh…okay. Yeah, that would be cool, un," he said slowly, wondering if this was a trick of some sort. His own cell phone had been left at home.

He left the room and got an orange juice for Sasori and a coke for himself from the fridge. When he returned, he paused at the doorway, noting that there was a new presence in the room. A beautiful Japanese girl was seated on the counter, speaking casually with Sasori. She was seated next to the redhead's books and to Deidara's surprise; his partner seemed fully involved in the conversation and had even stopped his work. Deidara seethed inwardly at the content expression on Sasori's face, one that he had never been granted.

"Danna, I brought your drink," he said flatly, placing it on the counter. "Who's this?"

"Deidara, this is Mei. She's an old friend who used to attend Konoha High," Sasori introduced. "She was just here to collect some transcripts from the office."

The blond immediately knew who she was, despite Sasori's controlled tone. Mei was the ex-girlfriend he'd heard about who had dropped out of Konoha High in order to join an accelerated learning program for smart-ass kids. She and Sasori had dated for about seven months before breaking up, and apparently it had been on civil terms. They had dated outside of school and broken up right after Deidara and Hidan had joined, so their relationship hadn't exactly been common knowledge to the newer Akatsuki recruits.

"Hello, Mei," he muttered reluctantly.

She tilted her head at him in acknowledgment. Deidara immediately didn't like her. There was something cold and serious about her, not to mention her eyes seemed constantly alert to everything happening around her. And she was intelligent. He could see that just by looking at her – you could just tell with some people. He could also see that she wasn't the type to take a joke, and was probably not a social butterfly that enjoyed drinking at wild parties and snorting cocaine in the shitty club bathrooms.

In other words, she was perfect for Sasori.

"At the moment I'm still living with my cousin and his parents," she said, returning to the conversation they must have been having before. "My dad told me he figured out his financial problems and that I can restart school next year. Which means I'll be leaving town next summer, thankfully."

"Lucky you, getting out of here. I'm still doomed to remain here until graduation," Sasori said, semi-bitterly. "How is Riku anyway? I haven't spoken to him since you left."

"He's being home-schooled at the moment. His parents think that school was stunting his growth and forcing him to conform to society's norms, so they've taken charge of his education. He's really…happy."

"I don't doubt it. He never was comfortable around people. Always preferred terrorizing them. Remember that time – during Valentine's Day?"

"How could I forget? The pictures are still all over the internet."

The two of them launched into a conversation about 'old times' and events that had happened during their relationship and immediately Deidara felt left out. He had not been present during these happenings and therefore couldn't really take part in their chat. Sullen, he simply sat on his chair and glared out the window.

After what seemed like an hour, Deidara finally lost his patience. He wasn't even supposed to be here – he simply wasn't allowed to walk home alone. And now that Mei had arrived Sasori had almost completely forgotten about his chemistry work and had wasted most of his partner's time by talking to her about useless crap.

_I want to go home, god damn it!_

It was almost five and he was tired of sitting here, listening bitterly to the other two ignore his existence.

"Do you plan on finishing your work sometime this century, Sasori no Danna?" he asked sarcastically. "Or are you too busy yakking about the stupid shit you used to do back when you had a life, un?"

Sasori shot him an irritated look.

"What's your problem, brat?"

"I'm sick of sitting here and waiting for you to finish. I want to go home and check up on Hidan, which I can't do 'cause you're taking your goddamn time finishing your work," Deidara snapped.

"Maybe you should stop complaining and learn to be a little patient. Then again, I've never known someone as immature as you to understand a concept such a patience, so maybe I'm being too harsh."

"Patience? HA! That's rich coming from you, un!"

Neither of them noticed as Mei leaned over the orange juice and secretively tipped a clear substance into the cup. It was over in a few seconds and then she was back to silently watching their heated debate.

She interrupted them when it looked like Sasori was about to smash the blond's face in.

"I think I should be heading off about now." They both turned to her, surprised by the sudden intrusion. Sasori quickly composed himself.

"Uh, right. I'll see you another time."

"It was nice catching up with you. And it was a pleasure to meet you, Deidara." Clearly a lie. She looked down at the juice and moved it towards the redhead. "Here, Sasori. Drink this. It's good to keep hydrated." He picked it up and reluctantly drank it. She then walked out the door.

Sasori was glaring at his work as he collect his books and began to shove them in his bag. His movements were jerky due to his anger and he didn't look up when the blond moved around him to the door.

Deidara was glaring at the retreating figure of Mei, which – he hated to admit – was sinfully sexy. Her hips swayed from side to side as she walked, but it was not deliberate or obvious. He grimaced when she moved to turn around the corner and paused. He watched as she reached into her pocket and took out a familiar object.

She snapped the blue-and-black striped band around her slim wrist and smirked at him teasingly. Then she disappeared around the corner.

"What the _fuck_?" Deidara hissed, eyes widening. Before he even had time to realize what had occurred he heard the sound of books falling to the ground. Whirling around, he saw Sasori leaning on the counter, his bag on the floor and books strewn everywhere. He was gasping for breath, clutching at his chest and making weak gagging sounds. "Sasori!"

He ran towards his friend, terror rushing through him. He didn't know what to do – all he knew was that Sasori had been poisoned – _poisoned_ – and now he was possibly dying.

"Sasori no Danna, I-I _fuck! _I don't know what to do!" he cried, gestures panicky. "Tell me what to do!"

"_B-bag_…_Deid-raaa…bag!_" Sasori hacked, pointing desperately.

"Bag? Right!" The blond grabbed the bag and began to rifle through it. His hands closed around the box that contained everything Sasori had created and he placed it on the floor. He opened it and was met with dozens of vials, each of which were labeled with meaningless words. "Which one? _Which one?_ Fuck, I don't know what any of these are!"

The redhead was choking, eyes watering from agony and Deidara watched with horror as his lips began to turn a terrifying shade of blue from the lack of oxygen.

"Danna, which one? I don't-I don't know which one to use!" he wailed, rifling through the vials. Sasori violently shoved him aside and grabbed one of the vials, hands shaking as he tried to uncork it. Fumbling, he dropped it and flopped backwards, writhing.

Deidara uncorked the vial and tipped the substance through his partner's lips, watching and waiting, hoping that he had made it in time.

_Come on, come on, come on._

After what seemed like an eternity, Sasori coughed harshly and sucked in a deep mouthful of air, struggling to sit up violently. Deidara caught him in a loose embrace while he gasped for breath, sobbing dryly and clutching at his friend's sleeve. They stayed like that for a few minutes, to allow him to recover slowly.

"Sasori no Danna…are you okay now?"

There was no answer for a few minutes.

"_Ahh_…it still hurts like hell," Sasori finally said. His voice sounded like he had rocks in his throat. "I…don't feel so good…I think I'm…gonna hurl." Without another word, Deidara pulled the waste bin in front of him and the other proceeded to empty his stomach of its contents. The blond rubbed his back comfortingly as he waited for the moment to pass.

"You okay to go now? We'll take a taxi back – I don't think you can make it back on foot, un."

"You think?" Sasori snarled, then winced, placing a hand on his stomach. "I can't let my parents…see me like this. They'll ask questions…"

"Yeah, I'll bring you to Hidan's house. His dad…hasn't been home for a while so we should be safe. And we can find out why they weren't at school today."

The redhead was too weak to protest and only groaned feebly when he was pulled up and supported down the school hallway at a snail's pace. The two of them had to stop at the bathroom when his stomach clenched painfully and he needed to retch once again.

Deidara managed to drag him to a taxi outside and forced him in, ignoring the fact that he was as limp as a rag doll and sweating from the immense pain he was experiencing. He could barely bring himself to look at his partner as he directed the taxi driver to Hidan's house. The man kept glancing in the rearview mirror, looking nervous when Sasori turned slightly green.

"Is he all right? He doesn't look so good."

"He's fine. It's just the flu, un," Deidara insisted. He glanced back and grimaced. "Uh, you might want to pull up for a moment. I think he's going to puke."

"Right. Just make sure none of it gets in the car. That costs extra."

The ride back was littered with dozens of pit stops and it took them nearly an hour to reach their destination. Deidara would not stop fluttering over his partner, nervously checking his forehead and holding his hand and mumbling nonsense to him. He couldn't stop himself – the immense guilt was near suffocating. He had allowed his jealousy to cloud the situation. He should have been alert, should have noticed that Mei had poisoned the orange juice.

How could he expect Sasori to count on him after this incident? He had started their fight, probably giving Mei the opportunity to slip the poison in the drink. If he'd just kept his mouth shut, just controlled his emotions better then that bitch would never have had that window of opportunity and Sasori wouldn't have almost died…

He was a fool and a child. Everything that Sasori had ever said about him was true. He didn't deserve to be in Akatsuki, didn't deserve to have Sasori as a partner. He wondered whether Pein would let him back out of the group. Maybe he wouldn't even give Deidara the chance; maybe he'd kick him out first.

His thoughts were interrupted by Sasori swinging the door open and falling out of the seat and onto the ground. He made a few incoherent noises and tried to stagger to his feet.

Deidara paid the driver and went to help his friend, but he was pushed away.

"I can…do it myself, brat. I don't…_need_ your help."

"Well, that's too damn bad, because you're getting it whether you need it or not," he replied flatly. They stopped at the door and Deidara knocked on it impatiently; Sasori looked ready to pass out or puke again.

When the door opened, three sets of eyes widened in surprise. The tall, broad and tanned figure in the doorway certainly wasn't Hidan. The miser stared at them, his eyes immediately darting to Sasori.

"What happened?" He helped them inside, watching as Deidara retrieved the trashcan and settled it next to the couch. Just in time – Sasori leaned over and began to heave dryly.

"Turns out _Mei _is a member of Chikara, un. Not only that, but she tried to poison Danna about an hour ago."

Kakuzu's expression was almost comical. "Mei, as in Sasori's ex-girlfriend?"

"She used…the poison that you guys sold yesterday…I recognize…the effects and the speed…of the reaction," Sasori said, gripping the can so hard his knuckles were turning white. When he looked up, his eyes were filled with a mixture of suspicion and cold fury. "So you want to…tell me, Kakuzu, how the Chikara got a hold…of the poison…that _I _created?"

The atmosphere grew tense and awkward and Deidara wondered why the temperature had dropped so suddenly. When the miser spoke, his voice was laced with remorse:

"Yesterday's mission was an ambush. The client was a member of the outer circle and he took off with the product and left us to deal with six other members. We failed to retrieve the poison and I had to bring Hidan to the hospital. Not only that, but we didn't get paid either."

"And you chose not to inform…any of us?"

"Pein said he was going to tell you all tomorrow when we were back at school and could discuss this more thoroughly. We took the day off today because Hidan needed to recover and I had to stay to make sure he was all right. His dad seems to have walked out," Kakuzu explained. He hesitated before continuing. "I'm sorry. We should have told you."

"Damn right!" Sasori snapped, face flushed from the effort of speaking. "Sorry doesn't…_cut it!_ I almost died! I would've died if-" He paled and was interrupted by more dry heaving.

Deidara took this as an opportunity to inquire about the Jashinist. At the mention of 'hospital' he had immediately felt concerned, knowing that it _had _to have been bad considering how much Hidan despised hospitals. To get him to one required practically knocking him unconscious and carrying him there.

Kakuzu motioned towards the doorway behind the blond – "Ask him yourself." – and he turned to see Hidan, shirtless and leaning heavily against the wall.

At first glance, it wasn't so bad. The cuts on his arms were yesterday's news and had been there for a long time. Even the smoothly carved Jashinist symbol on his chest was something that had healed months ago and was now a part of the albino's body. But what hadn't been there before was the gauze on the right side of his face, hiding a potentially serious injury. There was a small amount of purple swelling at the edges, but the rest was hidden under the white material. His eye had been left undamaged, but the skin around it was light purple and slightly swollen.

Overall, it wasn't as bad as Deidara had expected and he felt relief wash through him.

"Fuck's he doing here, Kakuzu?" Hidan slurred, glaring blearily at the redhead. The cause of his speech was held lightly in his right hand. The bottle of painkillers rattled when he lifted it. "Never said he was welcome. Yeah, never said so. Tell 'im to go."

Kakuzu sighed wearily. "Hidan, how many of those damn painkillers did you take?"

"More than I was s'posed to," was the answer. He looked at Deidara, eyes shadowed. "Hey, Deidara. They fucked up my face…split my head open, yeah? Hurts like a bitch."

"You going to be okay?"

"Eh…nothin' I can't bounce back from," he giggled. Then his expression turned serious. "But it's gonna scar. My face. Is gonna scar."

"Hidan, go back to sleep," Kakuzu said sternly. The albino continued talking to Deidara.

"He wants me to leave…then he doesn't have to look at my face. Makes him feel bad."

Deidara swallowed, averting his eyes. Hidan said nothing when Kakuzu gently took hold of his arm. The blond noted how carefully he was treating Hidan, as if he were fragile and breakable. He was mumbling something in his ear and they two of them left the room, Hidan's leaning his head tiredly on his partner's shoulder.

And they left Deidara in the room with the source of his problems. Now there was nothing distracting him from Sasori's pain, and the whirlpool of guilt and self-loathing. He simply sat there and rubbed his back, trying to say soothing, calming sentences to distract him from the agony. Finally the redhead fell asleep on the couch, curled up with one hand brushing the edge of the wastebasket.

When Kakuzu returned twenty minutes later, neither of them could look each other in the eye. The shame in the room was stifling and Deidara realized that he wasn't the only one who had made a mistake.


	6. Candy

**Disclaimer: **Unfortunately, I don't own any of the _Naruto _characters. But I do own the members of Chikara.

**Notes: **And here's another chapter! I hope the wait wasn't too long. I just started university so things are crazy busy, but I'm still intent on writing this story, because I love it so much. And thank you for your awesome reviews! They're so motivational and make me feel so happy.

This chapter is slightly short, and is a bit of a break from all the crazy drama. But don't worry…there'll be tons of drama and angst and crazy happenings and maybe even _romance_ in the next few chapters. I have it all planned out. Ah, I just love to torture these characters.

Oh and I'm going to shamelessly add that if anyone likes SasoDei I have another story called '_Eternity Ends With An Explosion' _that is centered around that pairing as well as KakuHida. So check that out!

Thanks to Salistina for pointing out some discontinuity in the story, which I have now fixed.

Chapter Six

Candy

At about midnight, Sasori had finally stopped heaving and had taken to lying on the bed with his head buried in his arms, much like a child after a long and exhausting tantrum. He had woken up a few hours ago and begun to throw up again, except there was nothing in his stomach so Deidara had had to rub his back while he gagged dryly over the toilet. It hadn't been a very pleasant evening, and both of them agreed never to speak of this again unless necessary.

The room was completely empty save a bed, a chair, a wardrobe and a few empty bottles of alcohol on the floor. The redhead had never been in this house before – in fact, he'd avoided it as much as possible – but he was pretty sure that this room had been filled with crap only a few weeks ago. This was definitely a sign that Hidan had been permanently abandoned.

Deidara was sitting on a chair with his feet propped up on what had once been Hidan's father's bed. He hadn't spoken for an hour, only tilted his head back to stare at the ceiling.

"When did Hidan's dad run off?" Sasori asked, finally lifting his head and turning onto his back. His entire body protested at the movement and he swallowed the urge to groan. He didn't want to seem weak.

"Uh…a few weeks ago. I was there at the time, un. We came back from school on a Wednesday and chilled out until we decided to start drinking. His dad was always out at some bar in the evening, so I went to go steal alcohol from his room while Hidan walked down to the mart to get mixers. It was the most agonizing twenty minutes of my life – wondering how I was going to tell him that the only thing in his dad's room was some money and a note saying he'd left and wasn't coming back, un."

"Do you know why he ran off?"

"Because he's a selfish, cowardly drunkard, that's why," Deidara said, face twisting with hatred. "He's a no-good, piece of shit father who spent his nights drinking and sleeping with whores and beating on his sixteen-year-old son. The world's better off with him dead or lying in a ditch somewhere, un." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, ignoring Sasori's expression of mild surprise.

"That's quite harsh, don't you think?"

"I've known the man since preschool and not once has he ever proven himself to be a good or caring human being. I think the only time he was nice to me was when he was trying to force me to give him my money so he could go drinking with his buddies, un. And when I refused he slapped me in the face and stormed out. I was thirteen, and needed that money to buy my sister a birthday present."

Sasori was overcome by a coughing fit – he felt his stomach muscles clench agonizingly and he doubled over, feeling Deidara shove the bucket against him. He pushed it away impatiently, unable to stop his muscles from seizing and his body from curling up defensively.

"Sasori no Danna, are you okay? Do you need-"

"I'm fine," he gasped, eyes watering from the pain. "I'm not going to throw up. I'm fine." He waved Deidara back down – the blond had jumped up in concern – managing to get his cough under control. He felt the recognizable feeling of bile rising in his throat and threw up in the bucket. He had the pleasure of reacquainting himself with the late night noodle soup he had choked down a few hours ago in order to appease his worried friend.

"Way to contradict yourself. At least this time you aimed right."

"Shut up, brat."

"I still say we should bring you to the hospital, un. You never know what side effects there could be. Maybe your antidote didn't work as well as you hoped it would or maybe it's not the poison you thought it was, or-"

"No. No hospital." He wiped his mouth, grimacing at the bitter taste that lingered.

"But you might need more treatment!" Deidara insisted. "It's been hours and you're still throwing up. What if you get worse?"

"It won't get worse, so stop fretting. Even if I did go to the hospital, how am I going to explain being _poisoned_? Worse, how am I going to explain not being dead? Both the poison and the antidote aren't liquids people have lying around in their houses. They would ask questions, and most likely call the police who would probably investigate who poisoned me, and how I got a hold of the antidote in time to survive. And how I even knew what antidote to take. Things would get complicated for Akatsuki and for myself," he explained, sighing heavily.

"Yeah, I guess you're right, un. But I still don't like it."

Deidara crossed his arms and resumed his original position, calmed now that Sasori wasn't showing signs of suddenly choking and dying. They sat in companionable silence for a few more minutes, until Sasori finally felt the need to apologize. It caught him by surprise when he blurted out:

"I'm sorry."

Apparently, it had shocked his friend, who slowly uncrossed his arms and stared at him with a bewildered expression. "What the hell are you sorry about?"

"For making you wait so long. For trusting in Mei when I should have known better. It was…so stupid of me."

"Oh, bull crap. How could you have known she was an insane psycho who was part of an enemy gang?"

"Well, I did date her for seven months," Sasori said with bitter humor. "Then again, she wasn't acting strange or suspicious. I should have figured that murder wouldn't be something that would make her lose her composure. She always was…impassive." _A bit like me_, he thought.

"You never mentioned that she was crazy. Was that why you dumped her? Maybe she was out for revenge."

Sasori blinked, raising an eyebrow. "I didn't."

"Huh?"

"I didn't dump her. She broke up with _me_."

Deidara's eyes bulged in astonishment and he straightened, jaw slack as he stared at Sasori. "She br- wait! Then why the hell did she poison you? I thought she was out for revenge and, being in Chikara, saw an opportunity. You mean this was all _planned_? And she had _nothing _against you? She really _is_ insane! I figured it was that whole 'hell hath no fury like a woman scorned' or that shit that made her try to kill you."

"No, I'm guessing this was planned. Their leader must enjoy irony, to have poisoned me with my own creation. As for Mei – she doesn't view pain, suffering and death with the same perspective as everyone else. She is indifferent to all of those things, and doesn't think highly of the value of human life. She's not driven by emotion, because she's unable to feel any. What you met back there was a real-life, medically diagnosed psychopath. She used to go to therapy while we were dating, but she wouldn't tell me why."

"Whoa…that's just…"

"Not to mention she had been manipulating me to get closer to Akatsuki's contacts and then sleeping with them in order to gain favors. When I found out, she dumped me. But I couldn't…hate her. How can I, when she was mentally incapable of feeling the pain I felt from her betrayal?"

Although he managed to keep his face blank, he couldn't stop the resentment welling up inside of him. It still wasn't a pleasant memory for him, and although they had parted ways a few months ago it still hurt him to think about it. He had kept up a careful mask, not wanting to show her how much she still affected him, but it had been difficult.

Apparently Deidara didn't think he was a good actor and scoffed, rolling his eyes.

"You're still hung up on her, aren't you? Pathetic – even after she tried to kill you."

Did he detect a sense of…_jealousy_? Deidara was practically pouting and glaring at the wall, annoyed by the redhead's behavior. He was _jealous_ – it was so obvious.

He didn't have any time to comment on this as the door opened silently and Kakuzu walked in, looking completely exhausted and unhappy. He and the Jashinist had remained in the room for the past few hours. Sasori hadn't wanted to disturb them, despite his curiosity. He still wasn't clear on what had happened.

The miser flopped onto the bed in an uncharacteristic manner and sighed loudly, closing his eyes. "Hidan's asleep. He passed out from the pills. Idiot took way too many."

"What even happened to him?"

"One of the guys smashed a brick against his face. He could barely walk; he was in so much pain. The doctor said it would be fine, and he wouldn't scar too badly but…"

"But?"

"He's mad at me. _Really _mad at me."

"Why?" Deidara demanded, entering the conversation for the first time. "It wasn't your fault the job was an ambush."

Sasori watched as Kakuzu's features tightened with guilt. He could see that his friend was feeling conflicted – it was strange to see him looking like that. Usually he was secure about everything he did, so certain about his decisions.

"I took the job because our client offered a lot of money, but I didn't take our usual precautions. I didn't demand to know who his source was, and how he'd heard of us. I should've confirmed that he was reliable, but instead I got blinded by the money he was waving in my face. Pein was wary, but I convinced him that even with the suspicious circumstances the money would be worth it. I was wrong. And it's obvious Hidan blames me."

"Obvious how?"

"He said – I blame you for this."

"Ah…"

Deidara snorted, leaning back to stare once again at the ceiling. He was obviously angry with Kakuzu as well, in support of his best friend. Then again, Sasori could see why he would be upset. The job had been risky and instead of taking the regular security measures Kakuzu had dived headfirst into a stupid situation, and dragged the albino with him. He knew that if it had been the same situation with him and Deidara, he would've been wallowing in self-loathing.

"I take it back," Deidara muttered sullenly. "It's totally your fault."

- 0 -

- 0 -

- 0 -

Kisame thought he was the only person to find the situation funny. Of course, he was just as concerned as everyone else when Pein had informed him about what had happened. Two blows in one week were pretty devastating. Especially considering the cause of one of them was someone he had once known and with whom he'd had a friendship. Sure, Mei was technically incapable of feeling most emotions and had proven herself conniving and practically inhuman, but considering he was part of the Akatsuki and was friends with people like Zetsu, Hidan, Kakuzu and so on, who was he to judge?

He was pretty sure in the future, if they weren't still in Akatsuki, Hidan was probably going to be a serial killer and Deidara was going to be a terrorist bomber. Zetsu would be in a mental hospital, Sasori would still be distributing his creations to evil organizations, Kakuzu would be embezzling money and Pein would be leading some worldwide criminal organization with Konan. He wasn't sure about Tobi – he was too nice to hurt anybody – and Itachi wasn't a criminal at heart.

As for himself, he wasn't sure. He liked breaking the law, feeling the buzz of doing something illegal, criminal, it was _thrilling_. But he also liked sports, and thought of being a professional swimmer. He was a natural at it.

But back to the situation at hand, when he watched both Hidan and Sasori, he couldn't stop himself from grinning. Not because they were both in so much pain they could barely move, but because they each had two guardian angels hovering over them concernedly.

"Kisame, could you please tell me why you're grinning madly at Sasori and Hidan? I'm pretty sure that what happened to them isn't funny, no matter how sick your sense of humor is," Itachi muttered.

"It's not funny."

He watched as Sasori eased himself onto the seat next to Hidan, muffling a groan of pain. According to Deidara, he'd been able to eat without throwing up in the morning, but now his entire body was so sore he would have been crawling to school had he not been helped by Deidara. He's insisted on coming to school and pretending nothing was wrong, but the act would have been more convincing if he hadn't been moving at snail's pace all the time.

Hidan was also a ruin. He'd forgotten his painkillers at home and he said his head was throbbing so badly he could barely open his eyes without seeing red blotches everywhere. He hadn't even been able to walk to school himself and had been offered a piggy-back by Kakuzu. Kisame had thought his head would explode when he'd seen them arrive at the school gate and watched as the miser gently deposited his partner onto the ground, instead of just dumping him on the street and demanding he walk himself.

"Then why are you smiling?"

"Because, look at their partners." He gestured at the two teens hovering over their respective partners, almost as if they were made of glass. Deidara was making it more obvious; snapping at Sasori when he tried to insist he was okay and sticking to him like glue. Kakuzu was subtler, but he essentially was doing the same thing. He hadn't left Hidan's side the entire time, and was even letting the albino lean on him for support.

"Ohhh. I see what you're talking about." The Uchiha smirked slightly.

"I never even realized Kakuzu could show compassion. He even offered to buy Hidan a drink from the vending machine to make him feel better."

"Are we sure that Hidan was the one who was hit in the head?"

Kisame laughed, causing the two injured teens to wince and lift their hands to their foreheads. The redhead shot him a furious glare and he immediately cleared his throat, looking away but still grinning.

"_Fuuuuck_, my head hurts," Hidan moaned, letting his forehead touch the surface of the table.

"My entire body hurts. It hurts so much I can _hear _my muscles screaming."

"Danna, do you need something? A drink of water? Something to eat?"

"No, I'm fine."

Konan interjected, her lovely voice filled with concern. "Should the two of you be at school? Perhaps you need to go home and rest. I'm sure if you go to the nurse, they'll give you a pass to leave school for the day."

"Thank you, Konan, but I'd rather not go home. My parents will ask questions, and I'm sure Hidan would much prefer to stay here as well."

"Damn right."

A sudden burst of laughter shocked all of them. Kisame glanced around to see the Chikara members crowded around their own table, laughing hysterically. Their source of amusement was obvious when Alec smirked at them.

"Hey Hidan, I love your new look!" he mocked. "Suits your ugly-ass face!" He high-fived his friend Alastair enthusiastically, crowing in victory. _Ooh, how witty_, Kisame thought irritably.

Hidan hadn't even noticed the jab, head burrowed in his arms and mumbling to himself. Kakuzu looked positively murderous and made to stand up, his chair scraping back. Pein grabbed onto his arm, shaking his head.

"Leave it, Kakuzu. They're not worth it."

Teru entered the common room, his smile almost breaking his face in half. As he walked past their table, a mischievous glint appeared in his eyes.

"Hey, _Sasori_. How you doing, buddy?" he asked, slapping Sasori on the back so hard the sound echoed around the room and most of the people looked up in surprise. The redhead gasped, gripping the side of the table with an iron grip. His face paled from the pain and Kisame could see him clenching his jaw in an attempt not to yell.

"You son of a bitch!" Deidara snarled, jumping up from his seat. "I'm gonna rip you to-"

"Sit _down_, Deidara!" Pein commanded, though his eyes were flashing with fury. The blond, breathing heavily, slowly eased himself back into his chair with his eyes still fiery with hatred. "As for you, Teru, I'd suggest you stay away from us from now on. If you ever harm one of the Akatsuki again I _will _have you killed." The teen scowled and moved away.

Kisame glowered at him until he was seating with his buddies, before turning to Itachi.

"Why are we even here anyway? I want to go _outside_."

"I'm not exactly sure. Our tutor simply told us to gather in the common room for an urgent meeting. He looked pretty upset though, so I'm guessing it's something serious."

A few minutes later, the door opened and Principal Tsunade, followed by her assistant Shizune, walked through the doors, looking stern. The Principal stood in front of everyone, waiting for them to be silent. She did not need to say anything; her mere presence was enough to quiet everyone down.

All the students turned to listen to her and the atmosphere suddenly turned serious. She waited for a few seconds before speaking. And when she spoke, her voice was grim:

"I'm sure you're all wondering why you're all gathered here. We've asked that the two older year groups be here during this break time for a grave announcement."

Kisame shared a confused look with the others.

"As I'm sure some of you are aware, one of our students hasn't been attending school lately. Takashi Ryuuga has been in the hospital for the past two weeks. He was in a severe car accident and will not be returning in the future. I urge you to go visit him, as I know that several of you are close friends of his."

The other Akatsuki were looking at Principal Tsunade, eyebrows raised, but Kisame's eyes were locked onto Deidara, who had frozen at the mention of Takashi. The blond was completely pale and his hands were trembling slightly as he seemed to be attempting to calm himself. Kisame wondered why he was so upset about this. It wasn't as if he'd been close to Takashi. If anything, he'd probably hated the bastard more than any of them.

Tsunade was still talking, but now there were a few people murmuring in the background. Kisame could hear everyone whispering to each other:

"…_heard he lost his hands…car exploded or something?"_

"…_third degree burns…poor guy…"_

"…_Connor hasn't been in school either...was involved? Maybe that's why…"_

"…_didn't hear about it on the news…"_

"…_gonna go visit him tomorrow…feel so bad for his parents…"_

He watched as Pein and Konan shared a significant look. They had probably known about this beforehand. Zetsu pretty much knew everything that happened in Konoha, and told Pein what he knew, who then informed Konan. Speaking of that, where was Zetsu?

He turned to his partner to ask him, but Itachi was looking at Deidara.

"He's acting strange, don't you think?"

"Mm. I wonder what that's about."

"Maybe he knows something about what happened."

"Eh?" Tobi, who had overheard them, perked up. "What are you guys talking about? I'm sure Deidara-senpai is just worked up over Sasori-san. Heheh, you know how he's always like that." He laughed nervously, adjusting his mask. He wasn't technically in their year because he took a class for children with special needs, but he had also been told to sit with the others in the common room because their teacher was absent.

"You're acting strange, Tobi," Kisame noted. "You've been acting weird for a while now."

"No, no, no, you're just seeing things, Kisame-san. I always act like this. Heheh."

"Hey, look at the Chikara," Kakuzu said.

They all turned to look at their rivals, all of whom were hunched together, looking furious. There was an undercurrent of anger around them that was so noticeable, even all the other students were avoiding them. Most of them were muttering to each other, but was it Kisame's imagination or were Teru and Alec glaring furiously at Deidara's back? He was absolutely certain that Takashi being hospitalized was connected to the blond, but he just didn't know how exactly. He was sure that if Deidara had anything to do with this, he would have told Pein…right?

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Tobi was nervous, jittering around and twitching all over the place. He was sure that his friends were getting impatient with him – judging by the evil looks Deidara was sending him the teen thought he was going to blurt out their secret any second now – and it was very likely that someone was going to punch him in the face very soon.

He just couldn't help it. Keeping a secret of this magnitude wasn't something he could _do_. Ever since the incident he'd been feeling absolutely paranoid and miserable, worrying that at any second he was going to just say something that would get Deidara in trouble with their leader and probably sent to jail. The high he'd gotten off joining the Akatsuki had faded once he'd realized he'd now be around the others _all the time_. Which meant he could reveal the truth at any moment.

No. He _wouldn't _tell!

He whined unhappily, looking at his tray of food. All of it was so disgusting he couldn't help but feel even more down. Even the jell-o seemed droopy and unappetizing, and he loved jell-o. He almost considered not even having lunch.

"Hey, Tobi, what the hell is wrong with you?" Deidara hissed, dragging him to the side roughly, almost causing him to drop his tray. "Stop being so twitchy, you idiot! You're going to ruin everything!"

"I'm sorry, Deidara-senpai!" he wailed. "I thought I could keep this a secret, but after what Principal Tsunade said-"

"Shut up! Shut _up_, you moron! Do you want everyone to hear you?"

"Sorry, Deidara-senpai. It's just so _hard_. I think Kisame-san suspects something, and Itachi-san keeps asking me if I'm okay. He says I've been acting weird. I _can't_ keep this secret anymore, I just _can't-_"

"Well, you're just going to have to, un!" the blond snapped. His expression softened and he sighed, looking unhappy. "Look, I feel bad for putting this pressure on you. I know it's hard for you not to tell anyone, especially Zetsu and Itachi, but you promised me you wouldn't. And you have to keep that promise, or I'll get in a shit load of trouble, un."

"Okay…"

The two of them walked to the lunch table awkwardly, not looking anyone in the eye. Tobi sat next to Hidan, who was almost being force-fed by his partner.

"I'm not _hungry_, damn it!"

"It's not healthy to skip meals," Kakuzu insisted, looking like he wanted to grab Hidan's head and smash it into his tray of food. The Jashinist continued to resist childishly.

The others paid no mind, all of them deep in thought about what they'd been told this morning. So far all they knew was that Takashi had been in a car accident, in which the vehicle exploded and he'd escaped with third degree burns and hands that were destroyed beyond repair. Every time one of them brought it up, Tobi thought he was going to puke. He didn't want to relive that memory of the explosion and the screams.

"Oi, retard." Hidan was trying to get his attention.

"Huh? What is it, Hidan-san?"

"Where the hell is Zetsu? I haven't seen him for days," he said. The Uchiha shrugged.

"I don't know. Zetsu-san hasn't been around for a while. Maybe I should call him to make sure he's okay," he said, suddenly feeling worried. He hadn't even thought about Zetsu in the past few days; he tended to disappear a lot. His absences were permissible by the school due to his known mental disorder, which was proven by a doctor's note. But now that he'd been reminded, Zetsu _had _been away for a long time.

He stood up, walking to the hall and pulled out his cell phone, dialing Zetsu's number. The phone rang for about seven times before he finally answered:

"_Tobi? Why are you calling me? __**Is something wrong?**__"_

"Where are you, Zetsu-san? Why haven't you come to school lately? It's been a really long time."

"_**I told you, I'm doing a mission for Pein.**__ I can't come to school at the moment because I'm busy. __**And don't bother asking, I can't tell you the details.**__"_

Tobi made a whiny sound. "But Zetsu-_san_-"

"_**No**_**.**"

"The others are wondering where you are as well…"

"_Who cares? __**They know better than to push for answers. I'm sure most of them have figured out what I'm doing right now.**__ Except Hidan. He's an idiot, haha._"

"Ahh, I wouldn't say that to him. Or even Kakuzu at the moment. He's really protective over Hidan because of that hit to his head. They're both really grumpy today."

"_Mmm, I heard about that incident. Are Hidan and Sasori okay now?_"

"Nuh-uh, they're in a lot of pain. Sasori's gonna take hours to get home, even with Deidara helping him. He won't let me help– says I jump around too much."

"_**You won't have to walk with them today.**__ Though it would be hilarious to see Sasori crawling home.__** I'll meet you at the school gate when class ends and walk home with you**__._"

"Really? Awesome!"

"_I just have to stop by the pharmacy to get my medication. __**I don't want to lose it again.**__"_

Tobi shuddered as he remembered the last time his partner had forgotten to take his medication. His "dark side" was usually repressed most of the time by his pills. Not completely – hence the presence of his other personality at all times – but enough so that he didn't go absolutely insane and try to kill everybody. It wasn't a fun memory, and Tobi preferred that it never happened again.

He could almost see Zetsu's look of stress at his sudden pause. He cleared his throat and continued, pretending that he hadn't been reliving the memories:

"Um…if you're is going to the pharmacy could you also go to the candy store and get me some lollipops and Gummi Bears? The lunch today is gross."

"_What? __**Hell, no. The candy store is all the way on the other side of town. **__You'll have to go without your stupid Gummi Bears."_

"_Please_, Zetsu-san? Please, please, please, please, please, please-"

"**Stop it. Shut up.**"

"Please, please, please, please, please-"

"_All right! Fine! I'll get your goddamn candy. __**And then I'll rip you to shreds when I see you.**__"_

Tobi whooped and punched the air excitedly. He was getting candy! This _had _to be the highlight of his crappy day!

"Yay! Thank you, Zetsu-san! Tobi is grateful!"

"_**Screw you, Tobi**_**.**" Zetsu wasn't really angry. He could tell that he was just being mad for the sake of making Tobi guilty. It didn't work; he was too happy about getting candy.

"I'll see you afterschool at the gate, yeah?"

"_Yeah, fine, whatever. See you, then._"

Tobi giggled, then hung up and put his phone in his pocket. He practically skipped back to the lunch table, seating himself next to Hidan once again and pushing his tray away, humming cheerfully. Sasori raised his eyebrows.

"What are you so cheerful about? Is Zetsu okay?"

"Zetsu-san is busy, but he promised he'd get me candy later!"

The others nodded, then lost interest and began to discuss among themselves. Tobi refused to touch his lunch after that, not wanting to ruin his appetite for Gummi Bears. He noticed Deidara still looking at him every once in a while, but this time his twitching was from excitement and not from uneasiness.

He went back to his special classes after lunch and attempted to write an essay, but kept getting distracted by his thoughts. He had never been very good at concentrating for a long time and these days it was even worse. His mind was all over the place and before he knew it, the class had passed without him writing a single sentence on his essay.

He left the room, almost running into Sasori, who was moving slowly down the hall.

"Sasori-san? Are you okay?"

The redhead turned, then winced as the movement seemed to hurt him. "I'm tired. And sore everywhere."

Deidara appeared around the corner. He caught sight of them and hurried to his partner's side, draping an arm over his shoulder.

"Tobi, do the same on his other side. We're going to help him home," Deidara ordered. Immediately, Tobi lifted Sasori's other arm and put it around his shoulder, helping him to move out of school. The teen protested, but to no avail as neither of them listened to him and proceeded to practically drag him to Hidan's house – he insisted on staying there so his parents wouldn't find out what had happened. The door wasn't locked, so they brought him inside.

Afterwards, Deidara and Tobi walked back home together, and it was only when the Uchiha arrived at his house did he realize that he'd completely forgotten about meeting with Zetsu. His partner hadn't been at the school gate like he'd promised.

Tobi called him once…twice…and after the third time he finally gave up, resigning himself to an afternoon without candy.

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And here I was worried that I might be neglecting Zetsu, but he'll have his time to shine very soon. And for those of you upset with the current lack of Kisame and Itachi, don't worry! I have plans for them in the future! I'm really determined to give every Akatsuki member focus in this story, and to not neglect anyone.

Please review! It's great knowing what you guys think of the story. And constructive criticism is always welcome.


	7. Eye For An Eye

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any _Naruto _characters. I do own the Chikara and its members.

**Rating: **T for violence, swearing, light slash, possible character death

**Pairings: **Mentions of romance, but it's not the central theme. Kakuhida, Sasodei, PeinKonan. As for KisaIta and ZetsuTobi – that's more up to the readers' interpretations.

**Notes: **I've been dying to put this chapter up for so long, but I haven't had the chance. Now I can finally have it up, though sorry for the long wait. It's been an intense couple of months, followed by a relaxing couple of months in which time I've had no motivation to write. But I watched all the new Naruto episodes with my friend that I'd been saving up (about forty) and suddenly remembered how FREAKING EPIC Naruto is, so now I've started writing again. I hope you all enjoy this chapter, it's one of my favorite ones so far. Reviews are greatly appreciated!

Chapter Seven

Eye For An Eye

Konan set her bag down on the chair, pulling her homework out and setting it on the table. It came as a slight shock to her when she realized just how much homework she had been putting aside lately. All of her time had been devoted to Akatsuki and she'd almost completely forgotten that she was in high school.

She felt slightly sorrowful when she spread out her work on the table. She couldn't remember the last time she'd actually focused on school and suddenly felt a small twinge of nostalgia for the time back when they were just normal teenagers. She loved Pein and loved helping him achieve what he wanted. It wasn't a matter of her sacrificing her own life and dreams to help him – she herself had always known that she wasn't suited for an ordinary life. Sometimes she simply missed worrying about the insignificant things.

At the moment her mind was focused on the two incidents that had occurred in the past few days. She wouldn't lie to herself and say that she hadn't been concerned. Sasori was a close friend and Hidan, despite his outlandish and crude behavior, was decent to her. If either of them had been killed, it would have been a devastating blow.

"Konan?"

She glanced up as Pein entered the living room, looking tired.

"Hello. I'm sorry I'm late – I was at the library. I needed some books for my essay," she explained. He nodded, eyes lingering on the books and papers she had spread out over the table.

The two of them had lived together for about two years now. Her parents had been killed when she was young and she had lived with her aunt, who was almost never in town. Once she had turned seventeen she'd moved into Pein's house – which was more like a mansion. He lived on the outskirts of town because that was where all the rich people lived and although his parents had spent a sizeable amount of money on the place, they spent a maximum of two months a year in the house itself. Mostly they were away on business or vacation.

Pein never complained. Konan had the feeling that he enjoyed the solitude, never having been very close to his parents in the first place. It was a mutual feeling of neutrality, he explained, rather than dislike.

"I've been slacking on my schoolwork lately. There's just no time for it anymore, with the Akatsuki and the Chikara and such. I'll have to catch up eventually," he muttered. "I'd like to at least say that I passed high school."

"You'll most likely graduate top in our class. Even with all the extra work leading Akatsuki is giving you."

"I don't doubt that. But still, I've been careless. Especially concerning that incident with Kakuzu and Hidan. I was foolish to allow the exchange without the proper security measures. I got blinded by the money and almost got the two of them killed."

Konan sighed. She didn't want to deny what he said; it wasn't like her to lie. "It was foolish. But Hidan is fine and so is Kakuzu. And it's not a mistake you will make again."

"Maybe not, but there are several more mistakes that I could make." She could sense that he was thinking about something specific.

"Such as?"

He sat on the couch, looking deeply thoughtful. His facial expression was blank as always, but she knew him too well to not be able to guess what he was thinking.

"Did you notice Tobi and Deidara's reaction to the news about Takashi? Both of them have been acting different ever since the day Tobi was attacked. Deidara told me what happened and it's nothing different from all the other incidents of bullying, if not slightly more violent. Which makes me wonder, what exactly happened that Deidara imagined he'd have to hide from the rest of us?"

"Neither Takashi nor Connor have attended school since that day. And we're both aware that Takashi did _not _lose his hands in a car accident. So logically, we'd assume that either Deidara or Tobi was the cause of his mutilation."

"Deidara, I'd say. Most likely with one of his explosives. I don't know how it happened, whether it was deliberate or accidental, but I've been wondering how to confront him on this subject. I suspected something was off from the moment he told me what happened, but wasn't exactly sure until Zetsu informed me about Takashi's hospitalization. If what I suspect is true, then Deidara made an incredibly stupid, impulsive and _risky _move and has now placed himself and the Akatsuki in danger of retaliation." He pinched the bridge of his nose, between his piercing, looking frustrated. "Now, this is a tricky situation. Deidara is a valuable member, but I can't simply let this slide."

"Why would-?"

"Excuse me." A tentative voice interrupted their conversation. One of the maids had stepped into the room, looking slightly wary. Most of the workers avoided Pein, as he wasn't the most lovable person ever. They didn't fear him, but most were slightly intimidated.

"What is it?"

"It's the guard dogs. Some children climbed over the gates to use the swimming pool again and two of the dogs got loose and chased one up a tree. The dogs won't listen to us…"

Pein sighed and rolled his eyes. He was used to the neighborhood children sneaking over the gate, usually to swim in the pool or play in the very impressive gardens, and most of the time he simply didn't care or his security guards would chase them away. It was inevitable, according to him, considering this had been happening for several years. And he wasn't sadistic enough to set up an electric fence, no matter how many times Sasori or Kakuzu tried to convince him it would deal with the problem.

He stood up, gesturing for the maid to leave, which she did so. "I'll be back in a minute." And then he left.

Konan turned back to work, settling on doing her physics homework first. Like Pein, she wanted to get her high school diploma, but more because she didn't want to say she hadn't been able to pass high school. Neither of them were going to further their education in college considering they were practically geniuses and had already made their plans for the future, but it didn't mean that they were going to be drop outs.

Also, being in high school allowed Pein to monitor the rest of the Akatsuki – and now the Chikara – more closely. She could tell that he was eager to graduate and finally be able to focus on Akatsuki. She herself had been doing some work on the side and they were both ready to expand beyond the boundaries of this town.

The sound of her cell phone ringing brought her out of her daze and she glanced down to see a familiar number flashing tauntingly at her. She pressed her lips together, unsure if she wanted to take this call. Then curiosity consumed her and she put the phone to her ear.

"Why are you calling me? I thought I made it very clear that I never want to hear from you again."

"_My dear, is that any way to talk to an old flame? Just the sound of your voice makes me feel like I'm flying._"

"The sound of your voice makes me want to vomit repeatedly," she replied scathingly, unusually. She couldn't help it, her emotions surfaced whenever she spoke to him.

"_Why so cruel, darling? I thought we ended on good terms. And if I remember correctly, you left _me _for Pein, so shouldn't I be the injured party here?" _He was mocking her, pretending to be hurt.

"I left you because I deserved more than what you gave me. _Not _because I was in love with Pein."

"_Ah…but you _were _in love with him. And I remembered believing you when you insisted that you were just friends-"_

"Enough, Riku. Just tell me what you want so I can end this conversation."

There was a calculated pause on the other end. When Riku spoke, his voice was still light but there was some wicked amusement hidden underneath.

"_How is Sasori? I hope that he enjoyed my gift, what with the obvious irony. And of course, I hope Hidan's feeling well after that little ambush I set up. I'm quite disappointed he and Kakuzu escaped, but I guess that I can't have everything. You proved that, my dear, when you left me." _

Konan struggled to compose herself as what he said filled the missing puzzle pieces in her mind. _Riku_ was the leader of the Chikara. _Riku _had nearly killed two of her friends and was tormenting the rest of them. _Riku_, her ex-lover.

They had been together for two years, the relationship ending a few months after Akatsuki was formed. Pein had been ecstatic – in that blank, controlled way of his – because he was not only in love with Konan, but he harbored an utter hatred for Riku. And once she'd broken it off, she'd denied him any contact until almost all thought of him had escaped her mind.

She'd suspected he was involved, after hearing about Mei's attempt to kill Sasori, but never had she imagined that he was the _leader_. Before she could speak, he continued:

"_The reason I'm calling was firstly to inform you that I am the leader of the Chikara. I wanted you to be the first to know, my lovely, and though I wish I could see your reaction it would probably be safer for me to tell you over the phone, wouldn't you agree?_"

"Yes…"

"_And the second reason I'm calling is because of an incident concerning one of my loyal followers. I'm pretty sure you are well aware that Takashi Ryuuga did _not _lose his hands in a car accident. Your little blond bomber took care of that problem and has now left one of my subordinates permanently crippled."_ There was no playfulness in his voice now, only an undercurrent of cold fury that chilled her to the bone. On top of that, there was the shock of what he had just said, though some part of her had already deduced that Deidara was the cause of Takashi's loss.

"Riku-"

"_So I'm declaring war on the Akatsuki. Until now we've been tiptoeing around you, provoking small battles and juvenile confrontations. What happened with Sasori was my little gift to Mei and as for Hidan and Kakuzu, I ordered my men not to kill them. I've been testing the waters, see, trying to find your weak spots. But now that's over with, and my followers won't hold back anymore. But it won't all be over just like that. I'll make it slow and painful." _

"What do you mean? Why would you do this?"

"_I'm going to destroy your loyal friends, Konan, one by one, starting with that little spy Pein sent to watch me. Just you wait, and you and Pein will lose everything you ever cared about."_

And he hung up, leaving her loosely clutching the phone in her hand. Her mind seemed to have slowed down for a few seconds as she tried to replay everything he had just thrown at her.

"…_starting with that little spy Pein sent to watch me…"_

"Zetsu," she whispered, her eyes widening in horror. Then she whirled around, dropping the phone on the couch in her panic. "Pein! _PEIN!" _

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"Yeah, I'm coming, give me a second, un!" Deidara yelled irritably, pulling his jacket on and yawning widely. He had just risen from his nap, bleary-eyed and unsure of what was happening around him.

His mother had dragged his father to a musical at the local theater and Ino had left to go to her boyfriend Shikamaru's house a few hours ago. Deidara had immediately taken the opportunity to have a short nap and recover some of the sleep he'd been missing for the past few days. He was always exhausted, what with the stupid nightmares of that hideous poisoning incident as well as the constant fear that someone was going to figure out what he had done.

He was pretty sure that most of them suspected, if not knew already and now he was simply waiting for the confrontations to begin. It was near terrifying, the thought of Pein calling him for a private chat only to tell him that he was out of the Akatsuki. He didn't _want _to leave the Akatsuki.

He took his phone out and glanced at the screen. He had three missed calls from Sasori. "Aw crap. Wonder what he wants."

The doorbell rang again, more insistent this time. _Who the hell was it?_

"God damn it, wait!" Deidara snarled, reaching for the door. He twisted the doorknob and opened it, glaring at whoever dared to interrupt his sleep.

Thanks to his sharp reflexes, he only needed half a second before he was smart enough to slam the door shut. Or at least he would've managed if it weren't for the door being kicked in so violently that he went flying backwards onto the ground in a heap.

Before he could move he felt something heavy land on his chest, pinning his arms to his sides. He kicked his legs out but it was futile, she was too strong.

"Mei-" he hissed, gasping for breath. She looked down at him impassively, as if she had just noticed him trapped under her. _Fuck, she's strong!_ "What the _fuck_?"

"Hello, Deidara."

"Yo, blondie. Long time no see," Connor said, closing the door behind him after checking that no one was watching. "Coast is clear, I don't think anyone saw us. Though you weren't exactly inconspicuous, kicking the door down like that."

"What can I say? I've always had a flair for the dramatics," Mei answered flatly.

"What are you _doing_? Get _off _of me!"

"Not until we've finished."

He stopped, staring at her with wide eyes. "F-finished what?" He felt his heart skip a beat when she took off the bag slung around her shoulder and retrieved a switchblade from it, flicking it up with a _click_. "What are you doing? What's that for?" His voice wavered, but he was too scared to care.

"We allowed you a week of anticipation to think about what you did. But now waiting time is over, and our leader has sent us here to...punish you for your actions."

"I _told _you that you were gonna pay," Connor snarled, moving to where they were and sitting down next to Mei. His crazed look had disappeared since the last time they'd seen each other, but he was still furious. "Didn't I tell you? You shouldn't have let your guard down."

"What are you g-gonna do?" Deidara choked, eyes darting from one to the other. Mei's facial expression hadn't changed the entire time, but Connor's face was twisted into a malicious expression. He felt himself dreading the answer, and couldn't stop himself glancing at the blade.

Mei took out a roll of duct tape and a rag. The purpose of these was obvious and harmless – without the presence of the switchblade, of course – but upon seeing them he nearly freaked and began to twist and turn, trying to get away.

"We haven't figured that out yet, but when we do, it's probably best we don't tell you. I don't see how you knowing would make the experience any less pleasant." She pulled out a strip of duct tape and used her teeth to slice it, then motioned for Connor to pick up the rag. "Now stop moving." He felt her dig the blunt edge of the knife painfully into his ribs and he yelped, feeling a sudden flood of fear.

His cell phone rang at that exact moment. It was currently lying a few feet away, having landed there when Deidara was thrown to the ground. The blond felt his entire body sag in relief. It had been so close – _too close_ – for comfort. Before Mei could do anything he wrenched his arm out of her grasp, taking advantage of the distraction, scrabbled for the phone and answered it.

"_Hey, it's Sasori."_

"Sasor-"

Mei slid the blade against his lips, tugging at the corner of his mouth. _Fuck, he'd practically forgotten! _He'd assumed that simply because Sasori was calling him, he was safe. But his partner wasn't here, he was still alone with these two psychos and one of them was wielding a knife and she now re-pinned his arms to the side. He watched as she put the phone on loudspeaker and put a finger to her lips, to shush him.

"_Deidara, I'm coming over. There's been an incident that I'd rather not talk about over the phone."_

"W-what incident?" Mei took the knife out and brought it down to his neck.

"_I'll tell you when I get there. Give me about fifteen minutes." _

"O-okay."

"_Deidara? Is something wrong? You sound strange."_

"I-I'm f-fine, Sasori no Danna," Deidara nearly sobbed, unable to keep his voice calm. There was silence on the other side of the phone; obviously his performance hadn't been very believable. He muffled a squeak of terror when Mei pressed the switchblade into his neck, nearly drawing blood.

"_I don't believe you…"_

"Say that you have to go," Mei hissed in his ear, too quietly for Sasori to hear her. Behind her, Connor was muffling hysterical giggles, eyes glinting with giddiness. "Or I'll castrate you." She moved the sharp metal down his chest, cutting a thin but painful line into his skin.

"S-seriously, I'm f-fine. I have t-to go now."

"_Deidara-"_

"_I said I have to go_!" he nearly shrieked and Mei reached over and hung up the phone. She rolled her eyes, tossing it to the other side of the room.

"Alright, let's make this quick. We don't have much time before Sasori gets here and I'd rather not get him involved," she said, stuffing the rag into Deidara's mouth and then slapping duct tape over it. The blond struggled but it was useless – she was about as strong as Kisame.

"Tch, why? Don't want to hurt your ex-boyfriend?"

"I think you underestimate Sasori. He may be small, but in a fight I have no doubt that he'll put up a decent struggle, if not win. I may be stronger than him, but he's proven himself to be faster and fantastic at hand-to-hand combat. He'd crush you within seconds. He wouldn't be able to take me down, but I'm useless to Riku injured." She shot him a look of disdain and returned to Deidara, who stilled under her calculating gaze.

He was sure he'd never felt so terrified in his life. He didn't know what they were going to do, but whatever it was, it would hurt like hell. He prayed to the Lord that she wouldn't go anywhere below the belt.

"We should cut off his hands, do what he did to Takashi," Connor said, taking one of the blond's wrists and digging his nails into the skin until he bled.

"How boring and unoriginal. I find the 'eye for an eye' thing highly overrated. I think we should do something _new_. More fun that way, don't you agree?"

"Fine then, what's your idea?"

He couldn't believe that they were talking about mutilating him so casually, as if this were all a game. Then again, one of them was a psychopath and the other was getting there. _God, where is Sasori? _

"An eye for an eye…_that's _not such a bad idea," she muttered, her knife moving dangerously close to his left eye. She gently nicked his temple and he instinctively moved away.

_No, no, no, fuck nononono-_

He was almost blind in his panic when he saw her nod approvingly, then gesture for Connor to hold his head down. The boy smirked and placed his hands on the sides of Deidara's head, restricting his movement. He tried to flail around, kicking his legs out and struggling underneath Mei but she was barely deterred, simply reached up with her left hand to pry his eyelids apart. He screamed when she placed the knife _oh so close_ to his eye, but the rag and duct tape muffled the sound.

_Oh God, Sasori, where are you? Help me, savemehelphelp, don't let them-_

"This is going to hurt, but it'll hurt less if you stay still," Mei advised, then proceeded to extract his eyeball, as slowly and as neatly as possible.

And it _hurt_.

He was dying – the pain was so excruciating that his entire body was in spasms and he couldn't stop the screams escaping his lips. His vision was going crazy, his mind screaming and sobbing and he wished he were _dead_ because it hurt _so fucking much_.

He didn't know how long it lasted, or when she stopped or if she had even stopped at all. The only thing he knew was that he'd never felt such terrible pain in all his life and he could feel the blood running down his face like a waterfall of tears.

He wasn't sure if he was flickering in and out of consciousness, or if it was just his brain going absolutely haywire, but he couldn't focus on anything, couldn't even pinpoint the moment where his eye was pulled out of its socket and he could no longer see. It didn't matter – his entire vision was black and fuzzy and blinded by his tears.

When he finally managed to open his other eye, he nearly passed out as he saw Mei casually holding his left eyeball in her hand and studying it. _That's mine! _He couldn't understand what she was doing with it, why it wasn't where it was supposed to be. Surely that wasn't _his. _But the white-hot pain in his head said otherwise. He couldn't tell if his left eyelids were shut, or if he couldn't see because there was no longer an eye there. He continued to struggle weakly, snapping his head from side to side and trying to escape, but he currently had the strength of a newborn kitten compared to his captor.

Connor's grip on him had slackened and when he looked up, the boy's expression was a mix of awe and horror. For a second there was a glimpse of dismay, as if he fully realized what they had just done. He glanced down at the blond several times, then back at Mei and that _goddamn _eyeball.

"Oh, _fuck_. Oh, Jesus _Christ_, Mei. I can't believe you just…" he wiped the perspiration off his forehead. "And without even blinking or breaking a sweat…"

"I thought this was what you wanted," she replied casually, tilting the eyeball so that it was staring at Deidara mockingly. For a second, he thought that if he ever saw that color again he'd be permanently ill for the rest of his life. Then the more terrifying thought came to him – _what if he never saw that color again? _After all, he still had one more eye that was just waiting to be cut out. _Oh fuuuck, no!_

"This is sick. This is…this is so fucking sick."

"Think of what he did to Takashi – who's crippled for life. Don't you think Deidara deserves the same treatment?"

Connor's face hardened almost immediately. "You're right." All traces of remorse had disappeared. "I'm sorry, that was… a momentary lapse. Dreaming about this is different from actually seeing it."

"You get used to it," she said, placing the eyeball on the ground. "And now, for the next eye. The boss said he wanted a picture for later use, but I think this eye should be recognizable enough. Which means the other one doesn't need to be taken out as neatly." She flipped the bloodied knife over and held it out towards him.

"You mean…"

"Revenge feels good. So you might as well take advantage of this moment. But don't kill him."

Trembling with either excitement or terror, Connor took hold of the knife and gripped it so tightly his knuckles turned white. Deidara moaned, trying to lift his arms and stop whatever was going to happen.

He was sure that if Connor did the job, he would die right there on the spot. He wasn't sure whether that was a good thing or a bad thing at the moment. He couldn't stand the thought of going through that pain again, and he didn't want to live the rest of his life as a cripple, unable to see his own art, to see colors…to see _Sasori_.

Fuck, maybe it was better if he just died.

He could see Connor's shaking hand nearing his remaining eye and he whimpered, wanting to move but Mei's hand were holding him steady. He was suddenly grateful for the gag, because if it wasn't there then he would've been begging for them to stop, begging and pleading and crying and he was just glad that he could hold that shred of dignity. Though he was very willing to give it up if they _didn't cut his eye out-_

_I don't wanna be blind, oh fuck, please, please, pleeeeeeeeaaaaaseeeee-_

He could hear them talking, as if they were far away, and vaguely there was the sound of the doorbell ringing.

"_Damn, it's Sasori. We should leave."_

"_But I-"_

"_No, it's not worth it. We've done enough, let's go. There's a back door in the kitchen."_

He felt his mind retreating into the depths of unconsciousness, but only on the edge, teetering madly. He was only vaguely aware of the weight lifting off him, of the vise-like grip on his arms suddenly disappearing and his captors scrambling madly for the back door. Even the sound of Sasori frantically calling his name from the other side of the door wasn't even to rouse him from his panic-filled stupor.

He simply curled up, eye staring straight ahead and even though he knew they hadn't cut it out yet, knew they hadn't had the chance to, he couldn't see anything but darkness.

- 0 -

- 0 -

- 0 -

Sasori thought that he might actually be getting fond of Hidan's house. Sure it was small and messy and infested with strange animals, but it was quite a change from his parents' compulsively neat house. Although they were very liberal parents and allowed him to do almost anything he wanted – including drinking, drugs and sex, though he'd never indulged in them very much – the one thing they did not tolerate was messiness. So while his mom would gladly pour him a glass of vodka sprite and insist he down it, she would freak out if he didn't use a coaster on the table. His dad would offer to pay for a two-week long vacation in Australia, but yell at him for leaving his papers on his desk in a pile.

He himself was usually compulsively neat and intolerant of dirt and strange fungi growing on his walls, but sometimes he liked a bit of messiness. Hidan's house was extreme, but he felt slightly liberated when he headed to the kitchen for breakfast without making his bed or checking his clothes for wrinkles or stains.

His good feeling vanished when he tipped over a box of cereal and was met with the sight of cockroaches crawling out onto the counter.

"That's vile. Don't you ever clean up around here?" he asked, chucking the box into the overflowing trash.

Hidan shrugged. "It's just a couple of bugs. Check the other cupboard, there should be an unopened box in there. I should probably go shopping for some real food, though. I'm getting sick of cereal."

"Do you have any money?"

"Yeah, my dad left me a bit. Enough for a few weeks. Maybe even a few months if I pull a Kakuzu and live off nothing but air and my own ego," Hidan said. Kakuzu whacked him over the head and he yelped. "Ow! Not the head, bastard!"

"You'll need to get a job."

"Yeah? And who's going to hire me? If you haven't noticed, I'm kind of known as the neighborhood's religious freak. And I'm not ready to give up that title yet."

"Yeah, well-"

Sasori felt his cell phone vibrating and picked it up, ignoring the bickering of the other two in the background. The caller was 'Pein' and he raised an eyebrow, wondering what had happened this time.

"Sasori speaking."

"_Zetsu's been kidnapped."_

He narrowed his eyes. "_What_? By who?"

"_The Chikara. Konan just got a call from Riku, who revealed that he's their leader and has now declared war on us. He also implied that he has Zetsu. I tried calling Zetsu and he wouldn't pick up. And I called Tobi who said that Zetsu didn't meet him afterschool and hasn't called him yet, which means that Riku wasn't lying. I'm guessing they snatched him sometime this afternoon."_

"What…" Sasori was completely lost for words. Pein didn't allow him to continue.

"_I'm calling a meeting at my house, immediately afterschool tomorrow. I need you to inform Kakuzu, Hidan and Deidara. If they have any questions, they can ask me in the meeting. I have to find out where they're keeping Zetsu so I can't talk right now."_

"Right. I'll tell them." He could barely restrain himself from crushing the cell phone in his hand. His fury was slowly surfacing and he couldn't help but slam the phone onto the table, feeling murderous.

Hidan and Kakuzu stared at him, surprised by this display of emotion. "What's happened? Is something wrong?"

"It's Zetsu. The Chikara kidnapped him this afternoon before school ended."

"_WHAT? _What the fuck?" Hidan yelled, then cringed and reached for his head, the sudden outburst obviously causing him pain. Kakuzu shoved more painkillers in his hand before turning back to the redhead.

"What's Pein going to do? Is there a plan to rescue him?"

"He's calling a meeting afterschool tomorrow at his house. We don't even know where they're keeping Zetsu, so there's not much we can do right now." Hidan opened his mouth to speak, but he put his hand up to stop him. "That's not all. Apparently…_Riku_ is the leader of the Chikara."

Kakuzu swore, hurling his mug to the ground. "I _knew _I hated that bastard."

"That dickhead. Next time I see him I'm going to rip him to pieces for fucking with us," the Jashinist snarled. "And Kakuzu, you're paying for that mug."

"Like hell."

"You threw it on the ground!"

"No I didn't. It fell."

Sasori interrupted them. "I'm going to call Deidara to tell him."

He tried calling the blond, who wasn't answering his phone. After the third time he sighed, hanging up his phone and slipping it into his pocket. Hidan and Kakuzu were bickering over the mug and he felt a growing annoyance at their voices. He wasn't in the mood for their fighting and he left, informing them that he was going to go to Deidara's house.

"Do you think he's going to kill Zetsu?" he heard Hidan ask before he closed the door.

He felt that same surge of anger and clenched his teeth, willing himself to stay under control. He could put up with the minor irritations – the teasing, the pushing and even the violence. The attack on Hidan had pissed him off even more than his own unfortunate poisoning. Not because he cared more about Hidan than himself, but because he couldn't believe the _audacity_ of the Chikara. How _dare _they attack Akatsuki? How _dare _they kidnap one of their members?

Sasori had known Zetsu since young, and had been a part of the Akatsuki for almost as long as him. They got along well and were good friends and he knew that they would be good friends even after graduation. He couldn't stand the thought of losing someone close to him. He refused to let it happen.

These thoughts churned around his mind as he walked and when he was ten minutes away from Deidara's house he tried to call him once again. It was only polite to inform someone when he was about to drop by. He'd yelled enough times at Deidara for barging into his room without warning.

This time Deidara picked up almost immediately.

"Hey, it's Sasori."

"_Sasor-" _

He frowned. _What the hell?_ He shook his head and ignored it.

"Deidara, I'm coming over. There's been an incident I'd rather not talk about over the phone." He wasn't particularly paranoid about these things, but something just didn't feel right.

"_W-what incident?_"

"I'll tell you when I get there. Give me about ten minutes."

"_O-okay."_

It definitely wasn't his imagination. There was something strange about Deidara's voice. He could sense the fear in his tone. "Deidara? Is something wrong? You sound strange."

"_I-I'm f-fine, Sasori no Danna."_

"I don't believe you…"

"_S-seriously, I'm f-fine. I have t-to go now." _

"Deidara-"

"_I said I have to go_!" And then the blond hung up, leaving Sasori to stare at the phone in disbelief. There was no way Deidara would have hung up on him in any normal circumstance. There was something very wrong right now.

He felt worry rising in him and before he knew it, he was running at full speed towards his partner's house. All he could think in his mind was _not Deidara, not Deidara, fuck, please, anyone except Deidara_. He didn't have the energy to think about how strange these thoughts were but all he knew was that he'd never been so scared for another person.

His feet slapped the pavement and he was getting out of breath by the time he reached the blond's house. His body, still sore from the aftereffects of the poison, was nearly in spasms from the excruciating pain but he ignored it. He could barely feel it and somewhere in the back of his mind he knew that he would feel like death tomorrow.

He remembered Deidara mentioning something about his parents and sister not being in for the day, but he was certain that Deidara himself was still at home. He practically dragged his aching body to the door and knocked on the wood, trying to get himself under control. There was no answer, so he knocked again, more urgently this time.

He heard a scuffle inside the house and frowned.

"Deidara? Deidara, open the door. It's Sasori," he called. The sounds of muffled running and the only thing left was a heavy silence. He started to panic, something he rarely did. "Deidara? _Deidara! Open the goddamn door!"_

He jiggled the doorknob and found it locked. It didn't matter. He had a spare key, which Deidara had given him the day they had become partners – for emergencies. This certainly counted as an emergency and he quickly turned the key in the lock and then swung the door open, taking in the scene behind the door.

In the dreadful silence, he could still hear the sound of his own heart shattering.


End file.
